Continuing closure of Bank Branches, Sub Post Offices and ATM’s

Closure of Bank Branches 

In the past, the major Banks originally committed to not closing a Branch if it was the last Bank in Town!

Despite this, the UK has lost almost two thirds of its bank branches in the last 30 years. 

In the past decade, the rate of closures has intensified, hitting rural and more deprived communities the hardest. 

Over the past 30 years, Banks in the UK have continually been closing Branches. 

The Independent reported on 25th Sept 2019, that according to Which? there were a staggering 3,303 bank branch closures in the UK, between just January 2015 and August 2019 — equivalent to 34% of the overall branch network in the country.

So many Communities have now seen the detrimental effects of Banks closing branches, Banks making their decisions to close, stating that footfall had reduced, more people were using IT etc. 

Please see some additional notes at the end of this article.

Closure of Sub Post Offices

This loss of Bank Branches has not been helped by the reduction in Sub Post Offices, which reduced by over 50% in 30 years to 11,500 in 2009.

MP’s were warned in May 2019, that it was expected that around 2,500 sub branches could close within 12 months, as according to a survey it was said that more than a fifth of sub postmasters were planning on resigning or downsizing because of increasing financial pressures.

Currently that does not yet appear to have happened but if it was to occur, then the resulting loss of services, particularly in rural areas, would have ”catastrophic” implications for local communities, say the National Federation of Sub Postmasters (NFSP).

It comes as the UK government prepares to end its subsidy of the Post Office network in 2021.

In Scotland promises of a more sustainable, long-term services had proven worthless after the loss of five post offices in the Glenrothes and Central Fife constituency in the last six months.

The sitting SNP MP has challenged the Post Office to do more to build trust and encourage people to become sub-postmasters and mistresses.

His call follows confirmation on 17th September 2020, that counters in the Pitteuchar and Cadham areas of Glenrothes will shut for good in October when RS McColl axes branches that house the service.

The move has been branded disastrous for the two communities and follows similar closures in Methil, Markinch and Leslie.

Mr Grant said the situation was a direct result of the way the Post Office manages its network.   He cited anecdotal evidence that many shopkeepers felt it was not worthwhile to provide a post office service due to a lack of financial reward.

Closure of ATM’s 

Access to free-to-use ATMs has been following suit, with 13 percent of all free-to-use ATMs in the UK closing in the past year.

To add to the concerns in Oct 2020 The Post Office announced it is to cut a third of its cash machines in the next 18 months with 600 ATMs to be shut by March 2022.

This move has raised concerns that even more rural and deprived communities face being cut off from access to cash.

The Post Office claims that the ATMs set for closure are little-used and have other free cash facilities close by.   It added that in areas where it is closing cash machines, customers can still withdraw cash over the counter free of charge.

Martin Kearsley, banking director at the Post Office, said the business was keeping 60 non-commercially viable ATMs "to serve the community's needs".

Currently the Post Office does not run any of the cash machines at its branches; they are operated by Bank of Ireland, which is pulling out of the business.

That has prompted the review, which will mean closing 600 ATMs, while the Post Office has said it will spend £16m to maintain and upgrade other machines.

The Post Office stated that by mid-2023 all ATMs it keeps will be replaced with new devices that have the latest cash dispensing technology and security measures.

"This is one of the largest investment programmes in the free to use ATM market for over a decade," said Mr Kearsley.     The Post Office will also become a member of the Link ATM network.

However, according to a recent BBC News Report it is now being considered whether people should be able to ask for cash from local shops - even if they do not buy anything under government plans.

The Treasury proposals come amid growing concern over cash deserts, when local communities have little access to notes and coins owing, in part, to the closure of bank branches and ATMs.

Bloom’s comments on the Reports

Bloom considers that these reports reflect the huge damage and the resulting massive loss of income to Communities throughout the UK.

It is also not helped by the lack of coverage available from alternative fair finance lenders in the UK.

As shown from the following facts about existing Credit Unions and Responsible Finance Organisations (RFO's) in the UK

Bank of England statistics issued on 28th August 2020, shows there are now just 277 remaining Credit Unions in England, Scotland and Wales with 145 in Northern Ireland.   

The Community Investment Steering Group Report Nov 2019 - Scaling up Community Investment in the UK states that there are only 23 active RFO's in the UK.

From these statistics it estimated that no more than 5 - 10% of the UK has any coverage available from a Credit Union or a RFO.  There are 69 cities and over 48,000 towns in the UK.   In the last 10 years many Credit Unions have been closed and NO services replace those lost to the massive detriment of the Community in which they were based.

Other Options

The BBC News announced in September 2020, that there were going to be some trials around the possibility of Churches becoming part of a solution and the trials including creating a financial hub in a Methodist church and drop-and-go deposit points for small firms among ideas being tested in cash-stricken communities.

Bloom has even before Covid been in discussions with a range of alternative Communities to provide some of the services lost by the withdrawal of Bank Branches and Post Offices.

NOTES re Closure of Bank Branches

According to Which? Bank branch closures reached their peak in 2017, with 868 branches of all banks disappearing.

Natwest Bank announced in Dec 2017, that they were closing 197 NatWest branches an a further 62 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branches

Also according to Which? Barclays Bank will have closed the most branches of all the major banks between January 2019 and December 2020, with 151 having disappeared by the end of this year.

During 2020, Barclays will have shut a further 59 branches, while HSBC is to close 28 branches.

Lloyds Banking Group announced that 56 Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland branches will close between April and October 2020.   The closures are spread across the UK, and come after Lloyds Banking Group already closed 151 branches between January 2018 and August 2019.

In early 2020, TSB announced they were closing 82 of 475 Branches.   

Then on 30th Sept 2020, they announced that a further 164 Branches, 1 / 3rd of their total, would be closing leaving just 290 - note that in 2013 TSB had 631 Branches.

In Aug 2020, the Co-op Bank announced they were closing 18 branches.

Announced 19th January 2021.

HSBC is to close 82 branches in the UK between April and September this year, claiming customers are turning to digital banking.

The company will have 511 branches across the country following the closure programme.

Coronavirus and changing customer habits have altered the way we bank, but there are concerns over closures.

Campaigners say that local branches provide a lifeline for those who need access to cash and face-to-face services, and allow small businesses to bank without too much disruption to their own trade.

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