Lloyds to close two local branches as more customers move to online banking

A branch of Lloyds Bank
-Credit:PA


Lloyds bank is shutting 136 more high street branches - including in Louth and Brigg.

The banking giant has announced it is closing 61 Lloyds, 61 Halifax, and 14 Bank of Scotland branches between May this year and March 2026, including Wrawby Street Brigg on March 5 and Mercer Row, Louth on May 7.

The closures come weeks after Lloyds said it would allow customers of Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland to use stores across any of its brands for in-person banking. Lloyds blamed the decision to shut the branches on customers shifting away from banking in person to using mobile services.

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It said that all workers at the affected branches will be offered jobs elsewhere in the company. A spokeswoman for the business said: “Over 20 million customers are using our apps for on-demand access to their money and customers have more choice and flexibility than ever for their day-to-day banking.

“Alongside our apps, customers can also use telephone banking, visit a community banker or use any Halifax, Lloyds or Bank of Scotland branch, giving access to many more branches. Customers can also do their everyday banking at over 11,000 branches of the Post Office or in a Banking Hub.”

The announcement means that 1,784 bank branches have shut or announced their intention to close since February 2022, when a voluntary agreement saw the major banking groups commit to assessing the impact of every closure.

That’s an average of around 50 closures announced per month or 11 per week. At least 289 branches will close this year, with the dates of 19 more closures yet to be confirmed and 19 already announced for next year.

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It follows on from 399 closures last year, 633 in 2023, and 425 in 2022. The LINK initiative to assess the impact of closures - which was agreed by all the major banks including Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds, and Halifax - was set up to ensure vulnerable customers and small businesses were not left behind in the switch to cashless payments and virtual banking.

When closures leave communities without any local bank, banking hubs or free ATMs are set up to fill the gap.