More than 50 Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland branches to close
Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed more than 50 branches across its network will close in the next year, including one in Grantham, as footfall continues to decline while digital banking is on the up.
Lloyds Banking Group will close 53 branches between September 2023 and May 2024, which includes 21 Lloyds Bank, 15 Halifax and 17 Bank of Scotland locations.
It comes after it confirmed in March that more than 80 branches across the Lloyds Banking Group network would close this year.
In Grantham, it is the Halifax, next door to the Angel & Royal on High Street
The Grantham branch was built in 1901 as Boots the Chemist, but Halifax Building Society took over in the 1960s when Boots moved to its current site.
The group said more than 20 million customers regularly use online banking, with 17.3 million of these using mobile banking via app. As digital banking has grown, branch visits have fallen, with the flagged locations seeing an average 55% less footfall in the last five years. However, some have seen up to 73% less physical interaction in branch during this time.
Once all previously announced closures are complete, Lloyds Banking Group will have 1,186 branches, including 577 Lloyds, 465 Halifax and 144 Bank of Scotland locations.
Overall, across the major lenders, more than 300 bank branches have been announced for closure since the start of 2023, according to LINK, the ATM network.
The Grantham branch at 6 High Street is set to close in November
Lloyds group said all of the branch locations announced for closure have a Post Office within one mile.
Following LINK’s cash-access assessment (the usual process when a bank announces closures), banking hubs have been recommended in five locations: Pershore, Crieff, Cumnock, Girvan and Jedburgh.
Banking hubs provide basic banking services including counter services run by the major banks and the Post Office. There are also dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy.
Meanwhile, Lloyds confirmed there will not be any job losses as part of the closures. It said all staff who work at these branches will be offered a role at another branch or in another part of the business.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson, said: “Our customers are increasingly using digital channels to manage their money – we now have over 20 million customers choosing to bank online. Alongside our digital and mobile banking options, we’re introducing more community bankers to provide face to face banking support in communities. Customers can also bank with us over the phone, through the Post Office or in a banking hub. All colleagues at these branches will be offered a role at nearby branches.”
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