More than 100 bank branches are scheduled to shut down in 2026 as the trend of moving away from physical locations on the high street continues rapidly.
This year, closure dates have been confirmed for 73 branches of major banks, such as Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland. Additionally, 29 branches have announced closure plans without setting final dates, totaling 102 closures. Lloyds is at the forefront with 40 branches nearing closure or awaiting final dates.
Among the upcoming closures are 18 Santander branches, 17 Bank of Scotland branches, 15 Halifax branches, and seven NatWest branches. The decision to close branches was attributed by Lloyds and Santander to the shift in customer behavior towards mobile banking over in-person visits.
A total of 35 branches will disappear from high streets by the end of this month, with two more closures in February and an additional 23 in March. The remaining closures are scheduled for July and October or are pending confirmation. Cornwall is experiencing a significant impact from the banks’ withdrawal from the high street, with four closures already set and two awaiting final closure dates this year.
Last year witnessed 13 branch closures, followed by six in 2024, 14 in 2023, and six in 2022, resulting in a total loss of 45 banks. Scotland’s Highland council area is also expected to lose six banks this year, including two without announced closure dates.
Scotland is projected to lose a total of 20 banks, with five closures expected in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. Among the remaining 76 closures in England, the South East and South West regions are the most affected, each facing the closure of 17 bank branches.
Since February 2022, when major banking groups committed to evaluating the impact of every closure voluntarily, a total of 2,065 branches have either closed or announced closure plans. The LINK initiative monitors each closure to ensure that vulnerable customers and small businesses are not left without access to cashless payments and online banking.
In cases where communities are left without a local bank, banking hubs and free ATMs are established to fill the void. Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at LINK, emphasized the importance of maintaining cash services for those who still rely on them, despite the increasing digital banking trend.
Gareth Oakley, CEO of Cash Access UK, noted the evolving banking landscape with the rise of digital transactions but assured that banking hubs are being established to cater to those who prefer face-to-face services and cash transactions. The opening of more banking hubs aims to provide convenient access to cash services for businesses and consumers.