Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed plans to close branches across England and Wales, including a Halifax outlet in Bristol.
The closures are said to be a result of changing customer habits, as 18 million of the lender’s 25 million customers now chose to do online banking, The Mirror reports.
Among the closures announced, Lloyds has confirmed that the Halifax branch in Whiteladies will close between January and April 2022.
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There will also be two Lloyds branches closing down in Gloucestershire, in Brockworth and Coleford, as well as one closing in Somerset in Crewkerne.
Around 178 jobs are at risk as a result of the decision, however the bank said no compulsory redundancies will be made.
This comes after Lloyds confirmed earlier this year that they will close another 44 branches, including 29 Lloyds branches and 15 Halifax branches, under restructuring plans.
The branches slated for closure have reportedly seen “significantly fewer customers regularly using them”, a spokesman said.
The cuts will take the total number of Lloyds Group branches from 1,523 to 1,475.
Union Unite reportedly accused the group of “betraying communities” that will be left with limited face-to-face support, as well as 178 job redundancies.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “This is a classic example of putting profits before people.
“The announcement is a complete betrayal of the communities and staff who have long supported this highly profitable business.
“This sector needs to start taking their corporate social responsibilities seriously and stop neglecting their obligations to their customers and workforce.
“Banks are leaving people behind in the rush to close bank branches and force consumers to go cashless to boost their mega-profits.”
Lloyds has said all customers will still have alternative access to cash within a third of a mile.
In a statement, Lloyds said it is piloting a new network of Community Bankers to support customers with local community needs such as house-buying.
One day each week, a Community Banker will be available in a town centre location such as a library or bookshop, to support customers with account enquiries, making payments, PIN requests, online banking queries, and appointment requests.
Community Bankers are currently visiting eight locations.
Vim Maru, retail director for Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Like many other businesses, we’ve seen people using our branches less frequently in recent years, and this decline is continuing.
"Our branches remain a fundamental part of how we serve our customers but we need to ensure the size of our branch network reflects the number of customers wanting to use them.”
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