EDINBURGH (CU)_Over the recent past, financial institutions in the United Kingdom have announced a series of branch closures during the pandemic, with an increasing number of customers opting for online banking over traditional counter services. For instance, in March this year, Santander UK said it would be closing 111 branches, followed by Virgin Money, which revealed in September that it was shutting 31 outlets for good. Lloyds Banking Group also planning to close another 48 branches, according to an announcement made in October.
Accordingly, TSB became the latest bank to join its rivals in slashing its network, with plans to close further 70 branches. Just over a year ago, the Edinburgh-based retail banking company had 475 branches in the United Kingdom, but by end of June 2022, this number is expected to more than halve, as the latest cuts, together with a wave or previous closures, will leave TSB with 220 by the middle of next year. The branches that will be shut down next year are spread across the European nation, from Exeter, in southwest England, to Thurso on the north coast of the Scottish Highlands
Echoing the views of other banks which have announced similar moves, TSB said there has been a significant decline in branch usage, with over nine in 10 transactions being carried out digitally. According to the bank, since January 2019, there has been a fall in the average number of transactions per outlet, and there is “no prospect” of them returning to pre-pandemic levels.
“Closing branches is an incredibly difficult decision to take, but we have to respond to the changes in the way people bank and provide the right mix of services for all our customers now and into the future,” TSB’s chief customer officer, Robin Bulloch, said.
The announcement was criticised by campaigners, who point to the damage caused by such decisions to local communities.
“This news is yet another hammer blow to the UK high street, which is already reeling after nearly two years of pain,” Dr Jackie Mulligan, founder of ShopLocalOnline.org and a government-commissioned High Streets Task Force experts, said. “The shift online is irreversible, but so, too, is the damage that a bank leaving a high street can cause for the shops that surround it. Local high-street shops need their local communities more than ever, and the gradual retreat of banks, which bring all-important footfall, poses another existential threat.”
