Bank branch closures are fuelling high street decline
The disappearance of bank branches from Britain’s high streets has become a key factor behind the high street decline of our local town centres.
As high street culture continues to decline in the UK’s small towns, studies have shown that a big contributing factor to this is the closure of high street bank branches.
The British Banking Association (BBA) has collected data from 1986 to 2012 and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have been collecting data from 2012 to 2023. The figures show that in 1986, there were 14,689 banks open on UK high streets. In 2023, that fell to just 5745. Over that same period, building societies felt similar losses from 6954 in 1986 to 1925 in 2023.
The digital age is one of the main reasons that bank branches have been forced to close. In a letter to the then leader of the Treasury Committee Mel Stride, the chief executive of Barclays UK, Matt Hammerstein, wrote that “profound technological changes, and the ease with which customers can access their accounts digitally means that our physical branch network is experiencing a sustained fall in demand.”
74% of Barclays users now interact with the bank via telephone, online or mobile banking.
A similar situation is happening at TSB. The banking company said that 90% of its transactions have been done digitally and that 67% of their users use telephone, online or mobile banking.
Despite this, there are still a great portion of banking customers who like going to physical bank branches.
Swinton has seen its fair share of branch closures in recent years. Lloyds, HSBC, Santander, Barclays, RBS and Halifax have all closed down in Swinton in the past 10 years. Halifax, the most recent closure, was the only remaining bank in Swinton before it closed in 2023.
It is because of these closures that residents will feel the need to visit other towns away from their own or use online services. This has a knock on effect on footfall in our local town centres.
Local residents who still like to use physical banks are now required to travel to surrounding areas such as Salford and Walkden. In some cases, they would have to travel even further to Bolton or Manchester City Centre if they need to use a physical bank branch.
One way the issue is being resolved is with banking hubs. This is where various banks merge in one place so customers can visit and have more chances of their bank being supported in their town.
For more information about banking hubs and where they’re located, you can visit the Banking Hubs support page on the post office website.