HSBC to shut 114 branches as more people bank online

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The number of customers using HSBC branches in the UK has fallen since the H1N1 swine flu outbreak.

The bank said it would try to redeploy affected staff.

In the last few years, banks have closed hundreds of branches as more people use online banking.

The remaining 327 UK branches of HSBC will be improved.

According to its managing director of UK distribution, people are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all time low.

The majority of us are banking remotely.

If it was the last branch in the area, the decision to close it was never easy.

She said HSBC was giving away free tablets to some branch customers in order to help them migrate to digital banking.

The speed of branch closings will cause concern.

Every year, hundreds of branches are cut. Potential replacements can be opened to help people who are struggling.

Only two of the 27 areas earmarked for shared banking hubs have opened their doors yet.

Vulnerable residents can deposit and withdraw cash from any bank.

Consumer groups and charities want the project to be sped up.

In March, HSBC said it would close 69 branches by this autumn.

Over the past five years, footfall in three quarters of the branches has gone down.

The number of people served at some HSBC branches has gone up since the swine flu epidemic.

More than nine in 10 transactions are now done online.

According to figures from Which?, High Street banks and building societies have closed more than 5,000 branches since 2015. There are these.

• Natwest, which owns RBS and Ulster Bank, has closed more than 1,200.
• Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has closed more than 850, with plans to close more than 70 more in 2023.
• Barclays is the individual bank that has shrunk the most, closing more than 960 branches.

Many cash machines have stopped working, leaving some communities without access to banks.

The elderly and those without internet have been disproportionately affected by it.

The chief executive of My Community Finance said that banks should save money by closing branches.

He said that it's not acceptable for bank customers to wait up to 30 minutes to speak to someone on the phone.

He said the move by HSBC will leave rural customers and those unable to use internet banking frustrated, stuck and unable to access their money.

The HSBC branches that are closing are listed.

In April: Abergavenny, Bexhill on Sea, Blandford Forum.

In May: Arnold, Bideford, Bridport, Brighouse, Bristol Filton, Coleraine.

In June: Bicester, Chepstow, Frome, Honiton, Ilkley, Knutsford, New Milton, Oakham, Penarth, Pocklington, Pontypool and Ross on Wye.