Santander closing down more than 100 branches

[Deleted User]

Another lot bite the dust. Although my local is surviving despite being demolished next year!

I really think we are at the stage where banks are just using COVID as an excuse. Many customers would prefer to use the branch but cannot get there. Some people are really going to be left in the gutter.

Santander has announced plans to close 111 branches by the end of August in response to the ongoing shift by customers towards mobile and online banking.
The trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, although branch transactions fell by a third over the two years before the virus crisis and declined by a further 50% in 2020, said the banking giant.
Mobile and online transactions have been growing by 20% each year, with almost two thirds of transactions now digital.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/santander-b926182.html

IvanOpinion

If people aren't using the branches to the required capacity then it is to be expected. 

More and more services are now transacted online or remotely so the need for branches is reducing.  They also point-out that all closures have another branch within 5 miles (most being less than 3 miles).

Katiehound

Looks like my local branch is staying open (I don't bank there)
My understanding is that because it is such a tiny branch ( it is teeny weeny) you can not get social distancing so it has been closed for much of the time... and the closest branch otherwise is 15 miles away.
Luckily we have a full collection of the others in town ... (at the moment!)

eskbanker

Deleted_User said:

I really think we are at the stage where banks are just using COVID as an excuse.

Your prerogative not to believe them but they do clearly say in your quote:

The trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, although branch transactions fell by a third over the two years before the virus crisis and declined by a further 50% in 2020

Branch closures were obviously in full swing across the industry long before Covid came along: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/revealed-a-third-of-bank-branches-closed-in-less-than-five-years/

castle96

is there a list?

eskbanker

castle96 said:

is there a list?

https://news.sky.com/story/santander-to-slash-111-branches-but-expects-to-keep-significant-number-of-jobs-12256110 has a list at the end of the piece, although I can't see an official version on Santander's site....

Edit: also published on the tabloids' websites (Sun, Mirror, Express, Mail, etc)

[Deleted User]

eskbanker said:

Deleted_User said:

I really think we are at the stage where banks are just using COVID as an excuse.

Your prerogative not to believe them but they do clearly say in your quote:

The trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, although branch transactions fell by a third over the two years before the virus crisis and declined by a further 50% in 2020

Branch closures were obviously in full swing across the industry long before Covid came along: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/revealed-a-third-of-bank-branches-closed-in-less-than-five-years/

Yes but I think they are speeding it up too fast, using the excuse of covid.

armith

Katiehound said:

Looks like my local branch is staying open (I don't bank there)
My understanding is that because it is such a tiny branch ( it is teeny weeny) you can not get social distancing so it has been closed for much of the time... and the closest branch otherwise is 15 miles away.
Luckily we have a full collection of the others in town ... (at the moment!)

It's not Louth in Lincolnshire by any chance is it? That branch (more like a twig actually) has been closed for months. I've only ever been in there twice and it's been for cheque paying in each time - it would be good if Santander allowed cheques to be payed in via the app if they are closing branches.

born_again

List on Santander site.
You just have to click though the letters.
Gutted as our nearest is to close. This after they have closed all the other local ones. So now have a 10+ mile trip...

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/ways-to-bank/our-branches

eskbanker

Deleted_User said:

eskbanker said:

Deleted_User said:

I really think we are at the stage where banks are just using COVID as an excuse.

Your prerogative not to believe them but they do clearly say in your quote:

The trend has been accelerated by the pandemic, although branch transactions fell by a third over the two years before the virus crisis and declined by a further 50% in 2020

Branch closures were obviously in full swing across the industry long before Covid came along: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/revealed-a-third-of-bank-branches-closed-in-less-than-five-years/

Yes but I think they are speeding it up too fast, using the excuse of covid.

The individual branch assessments published on their website clarify that they've used the steady state data rather than the Covid-affected stats:

We’ve used data between July 2019 and December 2019 to represent normal branch usage, as data from 2020 was significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic

In the absence of any reason to believe they're fabricating their figures, the analysis for closing my local branch seems self-explanatory (I think I set foot in it once in about seven years, although accept that posters on an online finance forum aren't representative of the population as a whole):

89% of customers transacting at this branch already use a variety of ways to complete their banking.

34% of this branch's customers also use an additional Santander branch.

71% of customers have transacted using our Online, Mobile or Telephone Banking services.

37 customers have transacted six times or more and only use this branch.

20SmthngSver

More people to lose their jobs. As usual, it's the low income workers who are suffering while the big earners at head office pocket the profits. How we expect to be able to have people in employment, paying tax for public services with so many things going online and losings skills and knowhow I don't know. Especially at a time like this, it's not like the banks don't make enough money. These poor people losing their jobs. Like the 900 at TSB from 140 branch closures, typically small village/town branches, where people have greater decency on them.