Map shows over 125 bank branches that have announced plans to close this week | Personal Finance | Finance
A host of UK bank branches are set to close (Image: Getty)
More than 120 banks have announced plans to close this week as a major British banking giant prepares to massively shrink its presence on the high street – use our map to check if any branches near you will shut. Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to shut down an additional 95 branches across the UK, impacting customers of Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland.
The group revealed that 53 Lloyds branches, 31 Halifax sites, and 11 Bank of Scotland locations are set to close under the newly announced scheme. The closures are slated to take place between May 2026 and March 2027. Lloyds is currently implementing previously prepared plans to close 49 branches by October. This follows the group’s January 2021 announcement that it would close 136 branches by March 2026.
Once all previously announced closures have been carried out, the banking group will be left with a network of 610 branches. NatWest has also announced the closures of 32 branches. It means 230 banks are scheduled to close in 2026, with another 15 already due to shutter in 2027 and 28 that have yet to receive an end date.
Of the recent closure announcements, the vast majority (108) affect communities in England, with 11 banks due to shut in Scotland, and eight in Wales.
Banks scheduled for closure in England include 25 in London, 17 in the South East, 13 in the North West, and 12 in the West Midlands, four of which affect Birmingham.
Find out if any banks are closing near you using our interactive map below.
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Since February 2022, when all major banking groups committed to a voluntary agreement to assess the impact of each closure, a total of 2,236 branches have either shut down or announced plans to close.
That’s an average of at least one closure per day, or eight per week.
The LINK initiative was established to scrutinise each closure and ensure that vulnerable customers and small businesses were not left behind in the transition to cashless payments and virtual banking.
When closures leave communities without any local bank, banking hubs or free ATMs are set up to fill the gap.
Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, at ATM network LINK said: “While more people choose to use contactless and digital payments, there are still millions who rely on and prefer to pay using cash. Alongside ATMs and Post Offices, banking hubs continue to help people and businesses to readily access and deposit cash. We recommended a further 15 banking hubs yesterday which will play a part in supporting access to cash across the UK.”
Gareth Oakley, CEO at Cash Access UK, said: “We’re delighted to see the difference that banking hubs have made for communities across the UK. It’s a clear reminder that while more people are choosing to bank digitally, cash and face-to-face services still remain essential for many. We have opened 212 hubs to date and are excited to continue rolling out these services in the communities that need them most. Customers can visit the hubs any day of the week for their everyday banking transactions, and if you have a specific or more complex enquiry for your bank, a community banker will be there to help on the day they’re in the hub.”
Banks are disappearing from UK high streets (Image: Getty)
