Within days, your neighbourhood may lose its banking hub. Lloyds Banking Group has begun its January purge, shutting 16 Lloyds branches alongside 12 Halifax and 16 Bank of Scotland locations throughout the month – marking the start of a staggering 71-branch cull by year's end. It's the latest chapter in a decade-long retreat from Britain's high streets, one that has emptied communities of their financial anchors and forced millions to navigate a radically altered banking landscape.
The banking exodus is nothing new. Since January 2015, over 6,600 bank and building society branches have vanished from UK high streets, according to the consumer advocacy group Which? – an average of roughly 53 closures each month, representing approximately 67 per cent of all branches operating at the start of 2015.
