Seven more Santander branches in the UK are set to close next week, rounding off a total of 14 closures across the country in August. It comes as a number of high street banks have closed multiple locations in recent years, with customers increasingly banking online.
Research by Which? in 2024 showed almost 6,000 bank branches were shuttered since 2015. Back in March, Santander announced it was planning to close 95 branches, as well as reducing hours at 36 locations and removing front counters at 18 others.
It assured customers that the 95 sites would be "covered by new Santander Community Bankers providing face-to-face money management and general support for customers, visiting local communities weekly, as well as attending local Banking Hubs".
After the closures, which represent more than a fifth of its nework in the UK, Santander will operate just 290 full-service branches across the country.
Santander UK recently revealed it has axed 2,000 jobs as part of a strategy to bring down costs and increase the use of automation in its services, as per Retail Banker International.
Chief executive Mike Regnier previously told the PA news agency that further job losses "might well be" on the horizon by the end of the year as its restructuring efforts continue.
69 branches have reportedly been closed so far following the seven closures this week, with one pulling down the shutters today (Sunday). These include:
- August 5 - Blyth
- August 5 - Canvey Island
- 5 August - Rustington
- August 6 - Downpatrick
- August 6 - Finchley
- August 6 - Whitley Bay
- August 10 - Surrey Quays
The seven branches closing next week are:
- August 11 - Brixton
- August 11 - Formby
- August 11 - Sidcup
- August 12 - Edgware Road
- August 13 - Holywell
- August 13 - Willerby
- August 14 - Plympton
19 other locations are scheduled to pull down the shutters for good by the end of the year, including the lender's Surrey Quays branch on November 10, as per The Sun.
Exact dates for the other 18 haven't been announced yet.
A spokesperson for the bank said: "As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future.
"Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside Work Cafés, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance.
"As a business, we must move with customers and balance our investment across all the places where we interact with customers, to deliver the very best for them now and in the future."
