HSBC has announced that it will close 69 of its UK branches by 2022. The announcement of the closures comes after 82 branches were closed earlier in January last year.
The move is the latest in a series of closures announced by several banks, including NatWest, TSB, Barclays, Lloyds and Halifax.
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Since January 2015, the banks and construction companies have closed or planned 4,782 branches, at a rate of around 54 branches per month.
This is all you need to know.
Why is HSBC closing its branches?
HSBC has said it is closing its branches as a result of more and more customers choosing to bank online rather than in person.
The bank said less than 50% of its customers now regularly use their branch network, with pedestrians falling sharply in the last five years.
Jackie Uhi, head of the HSBC UK branch network, said: “The way people are changing banks – something that has accelerated the pandemic.
“Our branches continue to support people with their more complex banking needs, but the way we can do that has also evolved, with the addition of banking hubs, community pop-ups and continued use of the post office network.
“Instead of a single size-fits-all branch approach, it is an approach built around the way different customers choose to bank in different areas.
“We know that the majority of our customers have a preference to do much of their daily banking online or over mobile, so we are moving to places where we have another branch in the area and where there is a significant reduction in the customer is .use face-to-face industry service.
“This allows us to invest in locations where our customers continue to use the branch network, including technology upgrades and branch renovations.”
What will happen to the HSBC staff?
The decision to close more branches should affect around 400 workers.
A spokesman for HSBC said the bank hopes to put all 400 of the affected employees into new roles, all within 15 miles of their homes.
Which branches will be closed?
These are the 69 branches that HSBC will close across the UK between July and October this year, and their proposed closing date:
- Amersham-on-the-Hill, Chiltern – August 23rd
- Angel (Islington), London – July 21st
- Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire – 25 August
- Bishop Auckland, Durham – 23 August
- Barking, Essex – September 6th
- Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire – 4 August
- Beckenham, Greater London – 8 September
- Billericay, Essex -8 September
- Bootle, Merseyside – October 6th
- Borehamwood & Elstree, Hertfordshire – 16 August
- Burgess Hill, West Sussex – September 13th
- Cambridge, Hills Road – July 21st
- Canton, Cardiff – 4 October
- City of London – 19 July
- Daventry, Northamptonshire – 13 September
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire – 6 September
- Didsbury, Manchester – 29 September
- East Grinstead, West Sussex – August 2nd
- Ellesmere Port, Cheshire – September 15th
- Eltham, Greater London – August 18th
- Falmouth, Cornwall – October 6th
- Farnham, Surrey – August 2nd
- Gloucester Road, London – July 26th
- Golders Green, London – August 18th
- Hammersmith, London – July 28th
- Hampstead (High Street), London – 27 September
- Harborne, Birmingham – August 11th
- Hartlepool, Durham – 1 September
- Herne Bay, Kent – October 4th
- Hoddeston, Hertfordshire – August 9th
- Ilkeston, Derbyshire – September 22nd
- Inverness, Inverness-shire – September 27th
- Keynsham, Somerset – 1 September
- Kingston, Surrey – Date to be confirmed
- Leyland, Lancashire – August 16th
- Londonderry, Derry – August 11th
- Lymington, Hampshire – August 4th
- Merry Hill, Birmingham – July 28th
- Monmouth, Monmouthshire – July 26th
- Moorgate, London – July 21st
- New Bond Street, London – July 19th
- Newmarket, Suffolk – September 8th
- New Malden, Greater London – September 1st
- Omagh, Northern Ireland – 16 August
- Peckham, London – August 2nd
- Perth, Perthshire – July 26th
- Petersfield, Hampshire – September 22nd
- Pinner, Greater London – 6 September
- Pontefract, West Yorkshire – 20 September
- Ringwood, Hampshire – September 20th
- Shirley, Warwickshire – 29 September
- Sidmouth, East Devon – September 13th
- St Annes-on-Sea, Lancashire – September 20th
- Stowmarket, Suffolk – August 18th
- Street, Somerset – 4 August
- Street, Kent – September 15th
- Thame, Oxfordshire – 9 August
- Thornbury, Gloucestershire – 15th August
- Trafford Park, Manchester – October 4th
- Uckfield, East Sussex – August 11th
- Wandsworth, London – 27 September
- Wellingborough, Northamptonshire – 23 August
- Westfield, Stratford City, London – July 19th
- Whitehaven, Cumbria – September 22nd
- Whiteladies Road, Bristol – September 29th
- Woking, Surrey – July 28th
- Woodbridge, Suffolk – August 25th
- West Bridgeford, Nottingham – 15 September
Are other banks closing their branches?
HSBC is not the only bank to have recently announced the closure of its branches.
TSB is set to close 70 of its branches this year – you can see the full list of TSB branches closing in 2022 on the TSB website.
NatWest will close 32 of its outlets, including 11 Royal Bank of Scotland locations. This is in addition to the previously confirmed 24 branches that were already closed for 2022.
Speaking about the decision to close its branches, a NatWest spokesman said: “Closing a branch is a decision we take very seriously.
“We know it can affect people who are less confident with the alternatives we offer, and we will always work hard to guide you through the changes and find the best way to serve you from now on.”
You can see the full list of NatWest affiliates closing this year on the NatWest website.
Towards the end of last year, Lloyds Banking Group announced that 48 of its branches will be closed by 2022. This closure will affect 41 Lloyds Bank branches and seven Halifax branches.
In 2021, Barclays closed 63 of its branches, and in 2022, it closed two more locations – in February, it closed its outlets in Daventry and Towcester.
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