The closures are estimated to put around 750 jobs at risk and the Spanish-owned bank will also cut hours across 36 sites and switch 18 to be counter-free.
Santander said it will be left with 349 branches after the sweeping changes.
This week, a handful of those branches are set to close across the country – see the list.
All Santander bank closures happening this week
The following Santander branches will close this week:
Monday, June 23
- Blackwood, Gwent, Wales
- Cleveleys, Lancashire
- Eltham, London
- Glasgow MX, Lanarkshire
Tuesday, June 24
- Aberdare, Glamorgan, Wales
- Glasgow LDHQ, Lanarkshire, Scotland
- Greenford, Greater London
Wednesday, June 25
Thursday, June 26
- Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Santander said the changes are being made as customers increasingly switch to online banking with it citing a 63% surge in digital transactions since 2019 while branch transactions have slumped by 61% in that time.
A Santander UK spokesman said: “As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future.
“Our new combination of full-service branches, alongside work cafes, counter-free branches and reduced hours branches, aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance.”
He added: “Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers.”
Santander said that from June 30, the majority of the reduced-hours branches will be open three days a week – either Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30am to 3pm, or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 3pm and Saturdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
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The bank announced in March that it would change 18 sites to being counter-free from June 16 but stressed they will also be manned by staff to offer face-to-face support with an average of eight workers in these branches.
The group will be recruiting 95 new “community bankers” in the locations where it is shutting branches and hopes to redeploy some of the affected workers into these jobs.
They will visit local communities on a weekly basis, based in centres such as libraries and community halls.
Is your local Santander branch closing? Let us know in the comments.
