By James Simons-
Santander is due to close after the bank announced it is shutting 140 of its “less-visited” branches across the country.
The Spanish Owned Bank which has one of the largest high street networks in Britain will shut 140 branches, leaving 614 after the closures, which will be completed by the end of the year. The bank confirmed today that 1,270 jobs are at risk because of the restructure, including those of staff at the Corbets Tey Road branch. The lender said the closures are in response to the way customers have been conducted their banking.
Santander said branch transaction numbers have fallen by 23% over the past three years, while transactions via digital channels almost doubled over the same period. Redundant staff may now be forced to seek roles at larger central offices, which must make allowance for some of those let down by the bank. The bank said it has consulted unions on the proposed changes, and will seek alternative roles for the 1,270 staff members affected.
Santander also announced plans to spend £55 million refurbishing 100 branches over the next two years in order to “focus on personal service, convenience and community engagement”. That’s all good rhetoric, but we will have to wait two years to see whether their plans comes to fruition
DRAMATIC
Susan Allen, Santander’s head of retail and business banking, said: “The way our customers are choosing to bank with us has changed dramatically in recent years, with more and more customers using online and mobile channels.
“As a result, we have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less-visited branches, and those where we have other branches in close proximity.
“We will support customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs. We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.”
According to consumer group Which?, nearly two thirds of the UK’s bank branch network has been lost over the past 30 years.
Banks and building societies had 20,583 branches in 1988 according to parliamentary records, but the consumer group’s analysis of current account providers suggests the figure has dwindled to 7,586 branches.
The big high street lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are also closing stores to deal with customers’ changing banking. Reduction of costs as well as the need to deal with challenges from new digital only banks such as Starling and Monzo has also been provided as reasons for the closures.
Gareth Shaw, head of Which? Money, said: “These closures will come as a blow for all those who rely on access to traditional banking services across the UK, at a time when branches are disappearing at a rate of more than 60 a month.
“Despite the switch to digital ways of banking and paying, millions of consumers still need access to cash. It is vital for a regulator to be given responsibility for ensuring that people have access to the services they rely on.”