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The Guardian - UK

Business

Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent

Lloyds plans to shut another 55 bank branches

Halifax (Organization) Lloyds Lloyds Bank Bank of Scotland Lloyds Banking Group Tulip Siddiq Accord

Lloyds Bank signage on a branch — Lloyds says transactions at the 55 branches to be closed have fallen by 55% over the last five years. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Lloyds Banking Group plans to close another 55 bank branches, bringing the total number due to be shuttered by 2026 to almost 300.

The latest batch of closures are slated to begin in the new year and will include Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds-branded branches in locations ranging from Surbiton to Port Talbot, Burgess Hill and Didcot.

It means that Lloyds Banking Group will have shut 292 branches in the two years between January 2024 and December 2025, as part of a wider corporate overhaul designed to cut costs and push customers towards digital banking.

Lloyds said that transactions in the 55 branches had fallen by 55% over the past five years, while use of its mobile banking app had grown.

Once all previously announced closures are completed, the group will be left with a network of 892 branches, including 447 Lloyds Bank sites, 341 Halifax-branded branches and 104 Bank of Scotland locations.

New regulations coming into force next week will mean banks and building societies have to ensure that any communities they are leaving have other ways to access cash. Lloyds said on Friday that all communities affected by the 55 branch closures were within reasonable distances to services such as the Post Office, or a free-to-use ATM.

The closures are not expected to result in any job cuts, with staff due to be offered alternative roles, including at other branches. Many are also opting to work from home in online or telephone banking, according to the Accord union, which represents Lloyds staff.

However, the Accord general secretary, Ged Nichols, said it was important to keep in mind that branches had a wider role to play in the communities they serve. “We’ve got an excellent track record of avoiding compulsory redundancies and finding alternative roles for people as branches close,” he added.

“However, we do think that the ongoing programme of bank branch closures – not just by Lloyds – should be thought about in terms of how their services can potentially help to bridge the digital divide. That could, for example, mean helping those people who need to be registered for pension credits to access their winter fuel allowance and get what they’re entitled to. Branches could serve their communities better.”

On Thursday, UK retail bank bosses from lenders including NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander met the City minister, Tulip Siddiq, and agreed to open 350 banking hubs by the end of parliament, to offset the number of branch closures.

Those hubs allow customers to pay in cheques, deposit cash and have face-to-face conversations with a community banker, regardless of which lender they bank with. Bosses are also considering having printers in its hubs, to help people print off statements or documents.

“Banking hubs are a lifeline for local communities that have lost their final bank branch. I’m confident that the banks will deliver on the commitment made today, as well as take a more active approach to meeting the needs of local communities,” Siddiq said in a statement.