Lloyds and Halifax have become the latest high street banks to announce more branch closures, affecting 40 sites, adding to an industry tally of more than 200 branches shuttering in the coming months.
Lloyds Banking Group, which owns both banks, said it planned to close 18 Halifax sites and 22 Lloyds branches in England and Wales, over a three-month period beginning in April. Customers had been visiting those branches in declining numbers, with visits falling by about 60% on average over the past five years, the bank said.
The rise of digital banking has caused high street lenders to retreat from the high street with more than 200 additional closures in the pipeline for the coming months.
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At the end of 2022 HSBC said it planned to shut a further 114 UK outlets between April and August this year. NatWest is also axing a further 43 branches in the first half of 2023 while Barclays and TSB will shutter 24 sites between them.
According to the consumer group Which?, UK banks and building societies have closed or announced the closure of more than 5,000 branches since January 2015.
“Branches play an important part in our strategy but we need to have them in the right places, where they are well used,” said Lloyds. “We’ll continue to invest in branches that are being used regularly, alongside our online, mobile app and telephone services.”
All of the branch locations announced for closure have at least one free to use ATM within a third of a mile and a Post Office within the same distance, it said.
Lloyds said there would be no job losses as the staff are being offered roles in other branches or in another part of the business. The closures will leave the banking group with a network of 1,277 branches.
Below is the full list of Halifax and Lloyds branches set to close.
Lloyds closures
Norbury – London Road – 19 April
Pontefract – Ropergate – 20 April
Beckenham – High Street – 20 April
Gillingham, Kent – High Street – 25 April
Chingford – Station Road – 25 April
Dagenham – the Heathway – 26 April
London – Marylebone High Street – 3 May
Ipswich – Bramford Road – 4 May
Weybridge – Church Street – 10 May
Twickenham – Heath Road – 11 May
Whitstable – High Street – 11 May
Beeston – the Square – 11 May
Wickersley – Bawtry Road – 15 May
Borehamwood – Shenley Road – 22 May
Littlehampton – Beach Road – 23 May
Rustington – the Street – 5 June
Aintree – Longmoor Lane – 6 June
Shaftesbury – High Street – 13 June
Newport – High Street – 13 June
Ripley – Oxford Street – 14 June
Hyde – Clarendon Place – 21 June
Harrow – Northolt Road – 29 June
Halifax closures
Bangor – High Street – 17 April
Chester Le Street – Front Street – 19 April
London – Fenchurch Street – 19 April
Aldershot – Union Street – 26 April
Crouch End – Broadway Parade – 27 April
Chorlton-cum-Hardy – Barlow Moor Road – 27 April
Golders Green – North End Road – 3 May
Putney – Putney High Street – 4 May
Norbury – London Road – 4 May
Surbiton – Victoria Road – 10 May
Chingford – Chingford Mount Road – 15 May
Redruth – Fore Street – 16 May
Bletchley – Queensway – 18 May
Maldon – High Street – 5 June
St Neots – High Street – 6 June
Whitley Bay – Park View – 21 June
Purley – Purley Parade, High Street – 22 June
Grays – High Street – 22 June
