Lloyds Banking Group closures Manchester: which branches of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland are closing?

Lloyd’s Banking Group has announced that 60 branches across the UK are set to close this year, following a decrease in people visiting branches.

It’s a worrying trend with the bigger banks closing branches all over the UK. Earlier in the year, HSBC announced that they would close a further 69 of its branches over the UK, adding to the 82 they closed in January 2021.

Why are banks closing?

Many banks are choosing to close their branches due to a decline of people carrying out their banking in person.

Recently, and perhaps only accelerated by the pandemic, there has been a huge increase in the amount of people doing their banking online.

Why are so many people now banking online?

Online banking is much more convenient.

Gone are the days when people had to enter a bricks-and-mortar building to carry out their banking - now, they can do it all from the comfort of their own home.

Perhaps the only con is that if things go wrong, or you’re unsure about some payments you see, there’s no bank clerk to instantly help.

It was estimated that worldwide, some 1.9 billion people were using online banking, and that figure was expected to rise to around 2.5 billion people in 2024.

In the UK, it was estimated that, at the start of 2021, 14 million brits were also actively online banking.

Are there any banks in Greater Manchester set to close?

Out of the 60 branches set to close across the UK, only one is in Manchester.

That one is Bolton (Westhoughton) which is set to close its doors for good on August 1.

What has the union said?

Speaking to Sky News, Caren Evans, Unite national officer, said: "Lloyds Banking Group must not be allowed to abandon 60 more local communities where bank branches play an essential role.

"The 124 employees who work tirelessly in their communities are dedicated to serving the banking needs of the most vulnerable who depend on their skilled services.

"When a bank branch closes the heart of the local community is ripped out and the results are devastating.

"Unite is clear that simply leaving an ATM in place of a vibrant bank branch is wholly insufficient.

"The banking sector needs to answer some serious questions about its corporate social responsibilities and the government cannot stand back and allow the relentless closure of banks to continue until no more local banking services remain."

What are the rest of the banks that are set to close?

The full list is:

Bank of Scotland

• Aberdeen (201 Union Street), 14 September
• Alness, 27 July
• Brechin, 2 August
• Broxburn, 9 August
• Carluke, 27 June
• Clarkston, 4 July
• Dunblane, 7 July
• Dyce, 5 July
• Edinburgh (Barnton), 13 July
• Edinburgh (Shandwick), 13 July
• Forres, 11 July
• Glasgow (Riddrie), 9 August
• Innerleithen, 4 August
• Kirkcudbright, 3 August
• Lockerbie, 8 August
• Selkirk, 8 August
• Shotts, 15 August
• Stromness, 17 August
• Troon, 21 September

Halifax

• Abingdon, 29 June 
• Beaconsfield, 28 July 
• Beccles, 5 July
• Belfast (Shaftesbury), 28 June 
• Bideford, 6 July 
• Devizes, 27 July 
• Doncaster (Market Place), 19 September 
• Dunstable, 11 July
• Finchley Central, 12 July 
• Halifax (Commercial Street), 19 September 
• Margate, 18 July
• Morriston, 18 July
• Penge, 10 August 
• Totton, 19 July
• Wokingham, 20 July
• Worcester Park, 20 July
• Yeadon, 25 July

Lloyds Bank

• Aylesbury (Gatehouse), 26 July
• Beaconsfield, 29 June
• Birmingham (Temple Row), 15 September
• Bolton (Westhoughton), 1 August
• Bradford (Thornbury), 11 August
• Buckingham, 20 September
• Chandlers Ford, 30 June
• Chipping Campden, 10 August
• Colchester (St Johns), 30 June
• Cottingham, 20 September
• Edgbaston, 21 September
• Knutsford, 6 July
• Liverpool (Woolton), 7 July
• Lyndhurst, 14 July
• Marlow, 13 July
• Swansea (Morriston), 4 August
• Oxford (Summertown), 21 July
• Poulton-le-Fylde, 3 August
• Rushden, 28 June 
• Shanklin, 26 July
• Shrewsbury (Mount Pleasant), 28 July
• Smethwick, 11 August
• Swanwick, 21 July
• Tiptree, 25 July

The closures are set to start in June and the last branch will close in September.