HSBC to shut 114 branches as more people bank online

HSBC to shut 114 branches as more people bank onlinePublished3 minutes agocommentsCommentsSharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesHSBC says it will close 114 more branches in the UK from April, as customers using them have fallen significantly since the pandemic.The bank said it would try to redeploy affected staff but that about 100 would lose their jobs. Banks have closed hundreds of branches in recent years as more people bank online and lenders try to cut costs.HSBC said it will invest tens of millions “updating and improving” its remaining 327 UK branches. Jackie Uhi, its managing director of UK distribution, said: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. ”Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.“She said the decision to close a branch was ”never easy or taken lightly“, especially if it was the last branch in an area. She said HSBC was investing heavily in ”post-closure measures, such as providing free tablet devices to help some branch customers bank digitally, alongside coaching to help them migrate to digital banking. The fresh closures come after HSBC said in March that it planned to shut 69 branches by this autumn.It said footfall in three quarters of the branches set to close had halved over the past five years.The trend has sped up since the pandemic, with some HSBC branches serving fewer than 250 people per week, it added.By contrast, it said more than nine in 10 transactions are now done digitally.More on this storyCity bank closure 'hits elderly and vulnerable'10 AugustRival banks join forces to protect future of cash15 December 2021View commentsRelated TopicsUK bankingHSBCBanking