Santander has announced it will close 40 branches across the UK by the end of May 2026, following four closures already completed in January. The Spanish banking giant attributed the decision to a significant shift towards digital banking, with 96% of customer transactions now conducted online.
The closures will affect 291 jobs, according to the bank. This latest round follows a previous announcement in March 2025, when Santander confirmed it would shut 95 branches, impacting 750 workers. In July 2025, then-UK chief executive Mike Regnier revealed that around 2,000 jobs had been cut in the previous year as part of a restructuring programme, warning that further redundancies were likely.
Santander has stated that affected branches will be replaced by “community bankers” through Santander Local stores or shared banking hubs, ensuring customers in impacted areas retain access to essential services. The closures are scheduled to begin at the end of April 2026, with more following in May.
The full list of branches closing includes sites across England, Scotland, and Wales. Among them is a branch in Kirkintilloch, Lanarkshire. The bank has not yet released the complete list of all 40 locations, but further details are expected to be published in due course.
