TSB to close quarter of branches in 'another hammer blow' to UK high street | TSB | The Guardian

TSB Bank is closing a further 70 branches – a quarter of its network – in a move described by campaigners as “yet another hammer blow” to the UK high street.

Fourteen months ago TSB had 475 branches, but these latest cuts – following a wave of previous closures in 2020 and this year – mean that by the end of June 2022 this number will have more than halved to 220.

TSB is the latest in a line of banks to announce it is slashing its network in response to what it said was a continuing decline in branch use and increasing numbers of customers switching to digital banking – a trend accelerated by the pandemic.

Its branches closing next year are spread across the country, from Thurso on the north coast of the Scottish Highlands to Exeter in Devon.

TSB said it remained committed to a UK-wide branch network and that, after the cuts, it would still have the 7th largest network in the UK. It added that the branches that were closing conducted about one-third fewer transactions than the TSB national average, and there was a post office or free-to-use ATM within a mile of each affected outlet.

A series of branch closures have been announced during the pandemic, with financial institutions insisting customers are spurning traditional counter service in favour of online banking. In October this year, Lloyds Banking Group said it would be closing a further 48 branches, while in September, Virgin Money announced it was shutting 31 outlets for good. In March, Santander revealed it was closing 111.

TSB said that in recent years it had seen a significant decrease in branch usage, with the average number of transactions per outlet falling since January 2019 and “no prospect of branch transactions returning to pre-Covid levels”. More than nine in 10 transactions are now carried out digitally.

Robin Bulloch, TSB’s chief customer officer, said: “Closing branches is an incredibly difficult decision to take, but we have to respond to the changes in the way people bank and provide the right mix of services for all our customers now and into the future.” He added that the bank had already opened “pop-up” services in 41 locations and a further 10 were now planned.

According to the consumer body Which?, banks and building societies have closed or announced the closure of about 4,300 branches since January 2015, not including the latest announcement.

Dr Jackie Mulligan, the founder of ShopLocalOnline.org and one of the government-commissioned High Streets Task Force experts, said: “This news is yet another hammer blow to the UK high street, which is already reeling after nearly two years of pain.”

Mulligan added: “The shift online is irreversible, but so, too, is the damage that a bank leaving a high street can cause for the shops that surround it. Local high-street shops need their local communities more than ever, and the gradual retreat of banks, which bring all-important footfall, poses another existential threat.”

Aylesbury, 1-3 Market Street – closing on 19 AprilBath, 10 Quiet Street – 15 JuneBermondsey, 253/255 Southwark Park Road – 27 AprilBishop’s Stortford, 3 The Corn Exchange – 26 MayBromley, 58 High Street – 18 MayBury St Edmunds, 8 Guildhall Street – 26 MayCamberley, 54 High Street – 5 MayCambridge, 6 St Andrews Street – 20 AprilCarolgate, 1 Carolgate – 24 MayCleveleys, 77 Victoria Road West – 8 JuneColchester, 2 Culver Street West – 31 MayColdside, 101 Strathmartine Road – 13 AprilCirencester, 37 Market Place – 14 JuneDenton, 38 Ashton Road – 17 MayEaling, 31 New Broadway – 5 MayEastbourne, 76 Terminus Road – 17 MayEllon, 36 Bridge Street – 19 AprilExeter, 6 High Street – 21 JuneForfar, 20 East High Street – 14 AprilForres, 156 High Street – 27 AprilFort William, 6 Tweedale High Street – 20 AprilFrodsham, 96 Main Street – 22 JuneGarston, 6 Speke Road – 9 JuneGateshead, 264 High Street – 10 MayGillingham, Sydenham House – 15 JuneGreenwich, 6 Crescent Arcade – 28 AprilHarlesden, 58 High Street – 28 AprilHorsham, Unit 1 – 12 MayKirkintilloch, 4 Alexandra Street – 28 AprilLanark, 25 Bannatyne Street – 27 AprilLongbridge, 1401 Bristol Road South – 28 JuneLouth, 11-13 Eastgate – 24 MayMagdalen Street, 65 Magdalen Street – 28 JuneMaidstone, 16 High Street – 10 MayMarket Hill, 17 Market Hill – 16 JuneMaryport, 109/111 Senhouse Street – 10 MayMelton Mowbray, 23-25 High Street – 1 JuneMorden, 66 London Road – 11 MayMorecombe, Lunedale House – 7 JuneNelson, 23 Manchester Road – 18 MayNewbury, 26 Northbrook Street – 7 JuneNewton Aycliffe, Unit 3B, Greenwell Road – 3 MayNorthallerton, 164 High Street – 3 MayOssett, 3 Wesley Street – 17 MayOxford, 17 George Street – 7 JuneRedcar, 87-89 High Street – 4 MayRedditch, 4 Unicorn Hill – 2 JuneRomford, 3 Stewards Walk – 31 MayRoss-On-Wye, 9a Gloucester Road – 22 JuneRushden, 133 High Street – 21 AprilSherwood, 583 Mansfield Road – 29 JuneShrewsbury, 45 High Street – 28 JuneSolihull, 58 Poplar Road – 1 JuneSouthend-On-Sea, 32 London Road – 2 JuneStranraer, 21 Castle Street – 28 AprilSutton, 79 Ellamsbridge Road – 26 MaySwaffham, 61 Market Place – 24 MayTaunton, 34 North Street – 12 AprilThornbury, 9 St Mary’s Way – 9 JuneThurso, 12/14 Traill Street – 21 AprilTunbridge Wells, 62 Mount Pleasant Road – 19 MayUxbridge, 24 Chequers Square – 4 MayWest End, 68 Baker Street – 4 MayWeston-super-Mare, 12 Walliscote Road – 23 JuneWilmslow, Emerson Court, Alderley Road – 14 JuneWimborne, 5 The Square – 13 AprilWinsford, 160 High Street – 21 JuneWoodseats, 1 Abbey Lane – 15 JuneWorcester, 24 Mealcheapen Street – 21 JuneYeovil, King George Street – 12 April

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