The death of high street banking: TSB will shut 164 branches losing 900 staff – as the days of popping in to pay bills or speak to the manager are gone for thousands after 3,500 banks vanish in last five years
- Edinburgh-based bank says it expects most of the redundancies to be voluntary
- TSB said branch network would be the seventh biggest in the UK after closures
- Some 193,731 job losses now announced by major UK employers since lockdown
- TSB, part of Sabadell, says cuts are part of three-year strategy to reduce costs
TSB has said it will cut around 900 jobs as part of plans to close 164 of its high street bank branches.
The Edinburgh-based bank said it expects most of the redundancies to be voluntary but did not rule out forcing staff out.
TSB added that its branch network would be the seventh biggest in the UK after the closures reduce it by a third.
In comes in the context of a bloodbath on the high street, with 193,731 job losses now announced by major British employers since the start of the lockdown in March.
TSB also said that more than nine in ten customers will have less than 20 minutes travel to a branch, and that people are increasingly banking online.
TSB has said it will cut around 900 jobs as part of plans to close 164 of its bank branches (file)
The bank, part of Spain’s Sabadell, said the cuts were part of its three-year strategy to reduce costs to stay competitive.
The company has previously said it intended to reduce the size of its branch network but has now accelerated plans amid the pandemic.
It will leave the bank with 290 branches, more than halving its store estate over the past seven years.
The announcement comes after a study by consumer group Which? in July found banks and building societies had closed, or scheduled the closure, of 3,588 branches since January 2015, at a rate of about 55 each month.
TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie said: ‘Closing any of our branches is never an easy decision but our customers are banking differently – with a marked shift to digital banking.
‘We are reshaping our business to transform the customer experience and set us up for the future.
‘This means having the right balance between branches on the high street and our digital platforms, enabling us to offer the very best experience for our personal and business customers across the UK.
‘We remain committed to our branch network and will retain one of the largest in the UK.’
Employee unions Unite and TBU strongly criticised the cuts, with Unite calling it a ‘dark day for the finance sector’.
TBU General Secretary Mike Brown said: ‘To throw hardworking staff on the scrap heap in the middle of a pandemic and against the backdrop of the worst financial crisis in a generation is nothing short of scandalous.’
Dominic Hook, Unite national officer, added: ‘Unite has urged the bank to rethink these plans and protect these much-needed jobs during the current health pandemic.
TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie said the bank is ‘reshaping our business to transform the customer experience and set us up for the future’
‘Not only do these staff deserve more from their employer after showing the utmost loyalty to TSB, customers will be deeply hit by these branch closures.
‘Unite has argued for some time that the financial services industry has a social responsibility not to walk away from its local customers, who continue to need access to banking in bank branches.’
In July, Which? told how banks have continued to close branches at an ‘alarming rate’ despite new rules introduced to protect them.
HSBC, Lloyds, Santander, the Co-Op Bank, TSB and Virgin Money have together closed more than 600 branches since protective measures were launched in 2017, according to Which?.
A study by consumer group Which? in July found banks and building societies had closed (or scheduled the closure) of 3,588 branches since January 2015, at a rate of about 55 each month
And NatWest and Barclays have shut 651 and 386 branches respectively in the past three years, the investigation found.
Under the rules – called the Access to Banking Standard – banks are required to consider what impact any closures would have on residents and publish their findings.
They must also give customers at least 12 weeks’ notice before shutting down and clearly signpost alternative services, such as a nearby Post Office.
Yet despite leaving many areas without a single branch, not one of the banks has reversed a closure in three years, Which? said.
