Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to close a further 95 branches across the UK, extending a multi-year contraction of its physical network amid continued migration to digital banking.
The closures comprise 53 Lloyds sites, 31 Halifax branches and 11 Bank of Scotland outlets, scheduled to shut between May this year and March 2027. The move follows an existing programme that will see 49 sites close by October. Once all previously announced reductions are completed, Lloyds will operate 610 branches nationwide. The group, the UK’s largest banking provider, said it offers customers a range of alternatives for managing their finances.
A spokesperson stated that customers increasingly want flexibility in how they bank and that the group now provides more choice than ever. More than 21 million customers use Lloyds’ apps as their primary method of banking, according to the bank. The continued decline in branch usage has prompted lenders to reconfigure distribution models around remote services and digital platforms.
The announcement reflects a broader trend across the sector. Less than two weeks earlier, Santander confirmed the closure of 44 branches, placing 291 jobs at risk. While banking hubs, in which multiple banks share premises to serve customers, have opened in some locations, their rollout has been slower than the pace of individual branch closures.
Not all institutions are following the same trajectory. Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, pledged late last year to keep its 696 branches open until at least 2030, although it has previously reduced its network.
The latest round of closures will affect communities across England, Wales and Scotland, including sites in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. As digital adoption accelerates, the recalibration of high street footprints continues to reshape the UK’s retail banking landscape, raising questions about in-person access for customers reliant on branch services.
