About 60 bank branches are closing every month in the UK, with RBS shutting the most, according to consumer group Which?. The group found that 2,868 branches will have closed between 2015 and the end of 2018, with the rate accelerating this year.
Which? called the trend 'alarming' and said many people were left without proper access to services. However, banks argued that their branches were losing customers as more people banked online. RBS will close 350 of its own branches, 638 NatWest branches and 35 Ulster Bank branches in 2015-2018. Lloyds is closing 366 of its own branches, 87 Bank of Scotland branches and 55 Halifax branches.
By region, Scotland has been worst hit, with 368 branches due to have shut by the end of 2018, followed by the South East (361), the North West (353) and South West (327). Which? money expert Gareth Shaw said: 'While the decision is clearly a commercial one for a bank to take, it is also crucial that banks do recognise the needs of their customers and the communities they serve, before simply shutting their doors - and their customers out.'
In 2015 banks signed up to the Access to Banking Standard, an industry-wide agreement that they must engage with customers about closures and inform them of alternative services. But Which? said that while Post Offices and mobile banking trucks were often suggested, they did not offer the same range of services or convenience as branches. Meanwhile, it said many people 'cannot' or do not want to use online services.
An RBS spokesman said: 'Since 2014 the number of customers using our branches across the UK has fallen by 40% and mobile transactions have increased by 73% over the same period. As customers continue to change the way they bank with us, we must change the way we serve them.' A Lloyds spokesman said branches played an important role but added: 'It is important to have branches in the right places, where there is customer demand.'
A spokesman for UK Finance, a banking industry group, said decisions to close branches were only taken after all other options had been exhausted. 'Technology is not for everyone which is why all the major banks offer day-to-day banking services through 11,500 Post Office branches,' it added. Banks have also been shutting cash machines at a rapid rate. In January, Which? identified more than 200 communities in Britain with poor ATM provision, or no cash machines at all.
