Lloyds sparks fears of more bank branch closures after announcing big change for customers

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Lloyds Banking Group is to allow all customers to use any of its branches in a move that has fuelled fears of more mass closures and job losses.

Britain’s biggest retail banking group owns Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland. In a memo to staff – revealed by the Financial Times – Lloyds’ consumer relationship chief Jayne Opperman said the group needed to “evolve how (it) supports customers” in physical branches even as “more people are choosing mobile over any other way to bank. That’s why — from later this year — we’ll make it possible for customers to use any of our Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland branches, regardless of the brand they bank with, giving them access to the UK’s biggest combined branch network."

A quarter of the banking group’s branches are believed to be close to one another. Allowing any customers to use any branch could cut costs, but also pave the way for more branches to be shut. Lloyds Banking Group has already announced plans to close 55 more branches, bringing the total number of branches across brands to 932. The latest closures will take place between January and September this year. They include 32 Halifax, 19 Lloyds and four Bank of Scotland sites.

Customers of the Halifax will be able to use any branch within the Lloyds Banking Group under reported changes
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Mark Brown, general secretary of BTU, an independent union at Lloyds, said the e decision was “to make it easier for Lloyds to close more branches and save more money” rather than improving customer experience. “We estimate that Lloyds will be able to close 233 branches at the virtual drop of a hat, with thousands of staff losing their jobs,” he added.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “We’re always looking for ways to make banking easier and more flexible for our customers so, from later this year, we’ll offer customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland the option to use branches of any brand for their in-person banking, alongside our apps, mobile messaging, and telephone services.”

Loyds added that it had had "no engagement" with BTU. As such, it says it had not given them any access to information and any comments BTU were "purely speculative".

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