Santander to reduce opening hours across hundreds of branches

A London branch in January. The bank said all of its 450 outlets would remain open every weekday. Photograph: Dinendra Haria/SOPA/Rex

Santander is cutting the opening hours of hundreds of branches, saying it is responding to changing customer habits.

The bank said all but four of its branches would now shut at 3pm on weekdays instead of the current 4.30pm, while more than two-thirds would close at 12.30pm instead of 4pm on Saturdays. Pre-booked face-to-face appointments will be available outside the new hours in certain cases.