Tuesday 19 January 2021 1:19 pm

HSBC set to close 82 branches as customers go online

By: Angharad Carrick

HSBC is set to close 82 of its branches across the UK amid a takeup in online and telephone banking. 

The high street bank announced plans to shut the branches between April and September of this year but redundancies would be minimal as it looked to redeploy employees to “suitable nearby locations”. 

The decision reflected “local market trends, customer behaviour and branch usage” and the total number of branches will be reduced to 511. 

The pandemic has changed the way people bank forcing those who usually rely on branches online or telephone banking. 

“In recent years we have introduced more digital options to make our customers’ lives easier and we know that customers are becoming more comfortable primarily using online and mobile banking to take control of their finances, turning to other channels for very particular interactions,” said Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s Head of Network. 

Even without the effects of the pandemic HSBC said the number of its customers using branches had fallen by a third in the last five years. 

HSBC said the branches earmarked for closure were all within one mile of a Post Office, where day-to-day transactions could be carried out.

In London the closures look to be concentrated in the City and West End, with its Fleet Street, Fenchurch Street and Marylebone branches all set to close.

HSBC branch closures in London