Find out which branches will close their doors soon
A significant number of bank branches will close across the UK in August, impacting communities nationwide. The closures are part of a broader trend of branch reductions by high street banks, including Lloyds, Halifax, Barclays, and Bank of Scotland.
Lloyds Bank will close branches in Exeter, Commercial Road in London, Clitheroe, Ilminster, and Malpas. The Exeter, Ilminster, and Malpas locations lack nearby branches, creating inconvenience for customers, The Sun reported.
Halifax will shut down branches in Abergavenny, Exmouth, Haverfordwest, Sudbury, Hessle, Loughton, Midsomer Norton, and Redhill. Only the Hessle branch lacks nearby Halifax alternatives.
Barclays plans to close branches in Rhyl, Keighley, Acton, Northampton, and Lesmahagow.
The Bank of Scotland will close branches in Buckie, Lesmahagow, and Lanark. Lesmahagow has no nearby replacement branches.
NatWest will shut down branches in Chadwell Heath, Muswell Hill, Streatham, Hackney, Paddington, Islington, Ramsgate, Shepherd’s Bush, Gravesend, Marylebone, East Grinstead, Eltham, Lewisham, Woking, West Wickham, Worcester Park, the City of London, Andover, Stalybridge, West Kirby, Marylebone, and Hendon. Customers in Chadwell Heath, Stalybridge, West Kirby, and Hendon may face difficulties due to the absence of nearby branches.
Since 2015, the UK has seen a dramatic reduction in high street bank branches, with approximately 6,000 closures, as reported by Which?. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced new regulations, urging financial institutions to maintain better access to cash services for their customers. This includes keeping facilities, including bank branches and ATMs, open until any additional cash services identified are available.
With NatWest, Lloyds, and more shutting down branches without any nearby replacements, the regulator may be forced to step in, GB News noted.
Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, emphasised the importance of cash services. “Three million people continue to rely on cash, even as digital payments become more popular. And many small businesses still need somewhere to safely deposit their takings each day,” he said. “That’s why we’ve acted quickly in response to new powers given to us by Parliament to ensure reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposits is maintained.”
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