Lloyds to close 21 bank branches from next week - full list of sites shutting down
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Lloyds, and other banks, are closing branches at an “alarming rate”, according to experts
Lloyds Bank is set to begin closing nearly two dozen branches up and down the country as soon as next week.
Bank branch closures have become a normality on Britain’s high streets which has many households concerned about their access to banking services.
Here is a full list of the the bank’s sites that are confirmed to shut down from next week, according to Lloyds Banking Group:
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As part of the wider banking group, Lloyds is set to close multiple Halifax and Bank of Scotland closures over the next year.
Earlier this year, consumer champion Which? warned that the current trend of banks shutting down could leave three millions Britons “cashless”.
Last month, the number of bank and building society branch closures in the UK since 2015 exceeded 6,000.
A recent report based on House of Library research found that people from rural communities, individuals with disabilities and pensioners are most adversely affected.
Bosses of high street banks and building societies claim recent closures are in response to changing customer behaviour.
Jenny Ross, Which’s Money Editor, notes that sites shutting down have wider consequences that need to be addressed.
She said: “While it’s true that many consumers are making the switch to online banking, it would be wrong to assume that this means physical branches are no longer required or wanted by the millions of consumers who use cash every day, and rely on it to manage increasingly tight household budgets during the cost-of-living crisis.
“Our figures show that bank branches and free-to-use ATMs have been closing at an alarming rate in recent years, with a very real risk of leaving some of society’s most vulnerable, including the elderly, excluded from accessing essential banking services.”
One of the solutions put forward to address the issues raised from branch closures are community banking hubs.
These are reserved spaces in areas without branches where major banks can provide services to customers.
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High streets have been hit by a wave of store closures since the pandemic, on top of banks shutting down
PAThis week, the Labour Party pledged to create 350 new banking hubs if it wins the upcoming General Election on July 4.
John Howells, Link’s chief executive, said: “Link has already recommended 132 banking hubs right across the UK and they are proving a very popular way of providing access to cash and basic banking for consumers and businesses who need to use a high street branch.
“I’m expecting many more to open over the coming years to protect access to cash and provide a welcome boost to high streets across the country.”
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader and shadow housing secretary, added: “With our plan to bring banking back to the high street, replace business rates and cut energy bills for good, we will breathe new life back into Britain’s high streets.”