NatWest has announced it will close 19 branches across the country next month. The banking giant has put the closures down to changing customer behaviour, with NatWest reporting a 62% drop in over the counter transactions between 2019 and last year. This compares to a 53% increase in use of its mobile phone app over the same period.
A total of 48 branches closed in 2023 and 2024, with most in northwest England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and North East. This year, the doors will close for the last time at 54 NatWest branches, from Accrington on June 5 to Nantwich on June 19 and Worksop on June 18, to name just a few.
NatWest is not the only bank to have announced closures, with Lloyds Banking Group set to close 136 branches up to March next year. Again, the reason given is the shift to online banking and a decline in demand for in-person services.
To find out where the latest closures will be, check out our handy map below.
According to analysis by consumer champions Which?, NatWest Group has closed the most branches of any banking group – 1,431 to the end of March this year. NatWest Group includes NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank.
After NatWest Group comes Lloyds Banking Group, which has closed 1,321 branches. Barclays has cut its network the most as a single bank, with 1,236 branches shut, according to the same publication.
Since January 2015, banks and building societies have closed 6,303 branches, representing 64% of those that were open at the beginning of that year.
Under the Access to Banking Standard, banks have to engage their customers and communities before any planned closures and offer other ways of banking when a branch shuts.
By law, banks and building societies are required to ensure they plug any gaps in access to cash locally. The Financial Conduct Authority has said banks and building societies can create banking hubs, instal ATMs offer access through the Post Office.
However, figures cited by Which? show that as of September last year, just 76 out of 162 recommended banking hubs had opened.
Banking hubs should have a counter where customers can have a range of services carried out, including paying in cash, taking money out and paying bills.
The Rural Services Network, a special interest group of the Local Government Association, has warned the closure of bank branches has had a negative impact on rural communities in particular.
It has highlighted how people who live in rural areas often experience poor broadband and mobile phone signals, which can make accessing telephone and online banking difficult.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds has said the Government understands the impact such closures can have and ministers are committed to championing sufficient access for all “as a priority”.
Ms Reynolds highlighted the Government’s work with industry on rolling out 350 banking hubs across the country by the end of the current Parliament.
