half or its bank branches or are scheduled for closure, since 2015. The analysis, which was carried out for the news agency PA, revealed that a total of 4,735 branches have been shut or earmarked for closure over the past six years, which is equal to 48 per cent of the network back in January 2015.
While some of them say the shift to digital banking, which was accelerated by the pandemic, was a key reason for the wave of branch closures. However, even prior to the global health crisis, cash was being used in an ever-smaller proportion of transactions, as many consumers relied on payment cards and contactless payment systems, owing to speed and convenience, among other reasons.
While there has been a significant increase in bank branch closures over the past six years, it was particularly widespread since pandemic-induced lockdowns were announced over the past couple of years.
In October, Lloyds Banking Group announced plans to close 41 Lloyds Bank branches and seven Halifax branches across England and Wales by April 2022. This was in addition to the 100 closures that took place in early-2021. Lloyds’s announcement in October was followed by TSB which revealed that it had decided to close 70 branches, nearly a quarter of its network. As a result, the retail banking company had more than halved the number of outlets in less than two years.
“Wave after wave of bank branch closures in recent years have left many people who depend on them for essential banking services – particularly the elderly and vulnerable – at risk of being cut adrift,” Jenny Ross, the editor at Which? Money magazine, said. “Recent proposals put forward to help secure the future of cash are very promising, but we will be watching closely to see if they are preventing further communities from losing cash access and vital banking services.”
