Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to shut another 45 branches
The Lloyds Banking Group-owned brands will close the branches next year, starting in March and April.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Lloyds Banking Group is shutting another 45 branches across its network and the Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands amid the ongoing shift away from high street banking.
The group is closing 22 Halifax branches, 19 Lloyds branches and four in the Bank of Scotland business.
Lloyds stressed that all affected branch staff will be offered other roles at another branch or in a different part of the business, with no compulsory redundancies planned.
It comes just a week after NatWest Group said it plans to shut another 19 branches, mostly in the early part of next year.
The latest closures take the total number of high street branches shut across the sector to 623 so far this year.
Lloyds is set to close the bulk of the branches in March and April next year, with some also closing in August and a tranche in November.
It means that at least 276 branches will be shut across Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland this year and next.
The closures announced will leave the group with 515 Lloyds Bank branches, 413 Halifax and 133 Bank of Scotland sites.
There has been a massive exodus of branches from the high street in recent years.
The largest number of closures announced this year have been Barclays branches, with the bank saying 185 of its sites are set to shut.
The way customers choose to bank with us has changed rapidly in recent years
Lloyds is second with 131, followed by NatWest with 116, Halifax with 94, Virgin Money with 40, Bank of Scotland with 32, Ulster Bank with 10, TSB with nine, Royal Bank of Scotland with five, and one Nationwide branch.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: “The way customers choose to bank with us has changed rapidly in recent years, and we now offer a wide range of options for their everyday banking needs.
“This includes our mobile app, online and over the phone.
“Customers can also bank with us through the Post Office, in a Banking Hub, or by speaking to a Community Banker.”
Consumer group Which? said banking customers are being “left on a cliff-edge” by the swathes of banking closures and called for a faster rollout of community banking hubs.
Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: “These closures are yet another nail in the coffin for the UK’s high street banking infrastructure and will see some towns lose more than one bank within a matter of days or weeks – suggesting little thought has been given to the impact on the communities they serve.
“With more than 170 branches already due to close in 2024, on top of the 5,783 branches that have closed since January 2015, consumers are being left on a cliff-edge as in-person banking services are axed from their communities.”
She added: “Banking hubs could play an important role in this, but the rollout is taking far too long and more hubs must open as soon as possible to stop millions of consumers being left behind.”