Lloyds Banking Group To Close 44 New Branches Amid A Wave Of Bank Closures
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Lloyds Banking Group has announced the closure of 44 new branches at the institution. The announcement comes as several other banks, such as Virgin Money, also announced branch closures. Banks have been witnessing a drop in the number of customers and transactions being handled at physical bank locations.
Lloyds Banking Group announces more branch closures
Lloyds Banking Group has joined the bandwagon of banking institutions that are shutting down their operations. This year alone, the bank will be shutting 86 Llyods Bank sites, 53 Halifax branches, and 16 sites for the Bank of Scotland. Lloyds has also postponed the closure date for 16 branches from 2023 to 2024.
A spokesperson from the bank commented on the closure, saying, “Our customers are increasingly using digital channels to manage their money – we now have over 20 million regular digital users, so it’s important we continue to develop the online services our customers want to use.”
As aforementioned, Lloyds is not the only bank that has been rocked by these closures. The way people bank has significantly changed over the years, with people now preferring to use online platforms to meet their banking needs instead of visiting a local branch. The transition has resulted in the closure of many major bank branches across the UK.
Online banking has offered the convenience of customers being able to bank at any time and wherever they are. As such, customers have reduced their visits to local banks. A study found that businesses are also turning towards digital banking.
The switch from physical bank visits to using digital banking platforms can also be attributed to the high sense of safety and reliability that these platforms offer. Despite these benefits, the increased closure of physical banks has led to job losses for the staff working at these physical locations.
A wave of bank branch closures
Virgin Money also announced it would be closing several branches in the UK because of a change in customer demand. The bank is planning to close 39 branches in total. The bank also noted that the affected branches are located less than half a mile from the nearest Post Office, which will now be used by customers to conduct transactions.
The chief operating officer at Virgin Money, Sarah Wilkinson, said that the move to shut down these branches should not be taken lightly. She said that customers at the bank had changed the way they were banking by conducting few transactions in-store. As such, the bank was responding to the evolving demand.
The executive also noted that the bank would explore the options that allow it to retain as many employees as possible in alternative roles. Some of these employees will be transferred to customer operations roles.
Other banking giants are also following suit. Barclays has already said that it planned to shut down 156 physical branches in 2023 alone. Natwest is shutting down 143 branches, while HSBC has lined up 144 branches for closure.
