Scotland worst hit region of UK for branch closures

The figures, compiled by consumer watchdog Which?, follow the findings of an independent report by Scottish businessman Professor Russel Griggs which heavily criticised banks for doing too little to support elderly customers and small businesses in the wake of the mass closures.

The new Which? research reveals that 1,046 bank branches were shut throughout the UK between January 2015 and January 2017.

HSBC has cut the most branches, closing 321 (a quarter of its network), followed by RBS Group, closing 191 branches (10 per cent of its network) and Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland), closing 180 branches (14 per cent of its network).

Scotland was found to be the region with the most bank branch closures per 100,000 people were Scotland, along with Wales and southwest England all of which have extensive rural areas, the study said.

Worst-hit areas of Scotland were East Renfrewshire, where 5.4 branches were closed per 100,000 of population, followed by Moray with 5.3 and the City of Edinburgh with 3.7.

Bank of Scotland axed 34 branches, followed closely by RBS with 31.

Most banks cite the growth of online banking as the reason for closing branches: HSBC told Which? that the number of visits to branches had fallen on average by 40 per cent in the past five years as customers moved to banking online.

However,while 56 per cent of adults used online banking last year, there are still around 20 million adults that don’t use it, and among them will be people who aren’t online and those with a poor broadband connection.

In the last two years, the Post Office has also offered an alternative for bank customers to access some everyday bank services.

While 72 per cent of the people we asked rated their experience of the Post Office as good or excellent, 41 per cent said they didn’t realise that it offered banking services.

Following its study, Which? said banks should consult with local communities before closing branches to ensure the needs of their customers are being met.

Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? chief executive officer, said: “Access to the services necessary to make everyday banking possible should be simple and straightforward. We’ve seen some good examples of banks acting responsibly and in the interest of local communities when they close branches. However, banks can and must do a better job of working with their customers to understand their needs and those of the local community, especially when they are making changes to the services they offer or closing branches.”

A spokeswoman for the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said: “Customers want convenient, round-the-clock banking, which has led to a digital revolution in the way they manage their money.

“This has had an inevitable impact on the use of bank branches, which has led to a number of branch closures. The decision to close a branch is never taken lightly.”

Which? has created an online map that shows areas where a high number of bank closures is coupled with poor broadband speed.