HSBC to close 27 branches this year – is your local one closing?

HSBC is to close 27 branches this year as fewer customers than ever use its high street branches.

The bank said the plans reflected a long-term change in the way customers choose to do their banking, forcing it to rethink its future.

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Over the past five years, the number of customers using HSBC UK branches has fallen by a third, it said.

The first closures will be made in early July, with branches in London, Bristol, Swindon and Leigh-on-Sea among the first to be axed.

HSBC customers will still be able to bank in Post Office branches across the country.

You can also find alternative HSBC branches on the .

“Retaining a sustainable branch network is extremely important to us and we need to ensure it is fit for the future," said Stuart Haire, HSBC UK’s head of retail banking and wealth management.

“But, the way our customers bank with us has changed significantly over the last five to ten years, and that change is something we cannot ignore.”

The bank said it will be investing almost £34m in its branches this year, including installing new technology and refurbishing 49 sites.

Of the 27 branches which are closing, jobs could be lost from 10 branches, which employ 46 people in total.

Staff working at the other 17 branches earmarked for closure will be moved to other roles at nearby HSBC sites.

The change brings the bank’s network to 594.

Customers are increasingly less reliant on walking into branches in order to do their banking.

HSBC said nine in 10 contacts with customers now happen over the phone, via the internet or on its smartphone app.

Only one in every 100 cash withdrawals are made in branch at an HSBC.

But some people, often those who are older or vulnerable, do rely on being able to go into a branch in order to access their money.

Research by the Financial Conduct Authority revealed that branch closures can create “significant challenges” for disabled people and those who are elderly, as they have to travel further to their nearest branch.

It also found that around 10 per cent of the rural population lived at least 10 miles away from their nearest branch, creating accessibility problems.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which, said: “These branch closures are yet another blow to the UK’s already fragile cash network – our research has found that two thirds of people would find life difficult without convenient access to a bank branch, and further closures will only make life more difficult for the millions of people who rely on cash in their day-to-day lives.

“Banks must ensure none of their customers are left behind by these rapid changes to the banking landscape when there is still such a high demand for cash.”
Earlier this month, HSBC said its global staff numbers would be reduced by 35,000 over the next three years.

This would include “meaningful” cuts in the UK, where it employs around 40,000 people.

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According to research, more than a third of the UK's bank branches have shut their doors since 2015 in a blow to the elderly and others who rely on them.

Last month, Lloyds announced plans to close 31 Lloyds, 10 Halifax and 15 Bank of Scotland branches between April and October this year.

And TSB will also shutter 82 sites in 2020.