Lloyds Banking Group says more Bank of Scotland closures on horizon

Lloyds Banking Group has announced more Bank of Scotland branches are set to close.

The high street lender announced on Wednesday that another 49 bank branches will shut across the UK between January and October of next year.

The group will close 26 Lloyds branches, ten Halifax and 13 Bank of Scotland sites as part of the latest announcement.

Branches at Glasgow Anniesland, St Andrews, Grangemouth, Bellshill, Castle Douglas, Dingwall, Erskine, Gairloch, Hawick, Largs, Larkhall, Nairn, and Tain will all be affected.

Lloyds said it will “keep a branch open until any industry-recommended solution is delivered by Cash Access UK”.

Once all previously announced closures are complete, Bank of Scotland will have 76 branches left in Scotland.

The banking group blamed the latest round of closures on changing customer preferences and a move to online banking.

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Bute is at the forefront of Scotland’s digital money divide, leaving an island community of 6,000 without a local bank.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “The way people are banking has changed, with over 21 million customers choosing our apps to manage their money.

“We’re providing more choice than ever before, bringing together the best in digital convenience with our people.

“Alongside our app, our customers can use any Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland branch, the Post Office or banking hubs for their everyday banking, and deposit cash at over 30,000 PayPoint locations.”

The company said all staff impacted by the closures will be offered roles at other branches or in other parts of the business.

The announcement is the latest in a series of bank closures across the country.

Since 2015, Bank of Scotland has closed 187 branches, and Royal Bank of Scotland has shut 183.

NatWest revealed last week it was closing 46 mobile branches across its NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland brands, which are due to shut in January.

After the latest closure announcement, cash access network Link said it was recommending 11 new banking hubs, which have a counter service operated by Post Office employees, where customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions.