Natwest will axe 23 more bank branches before June in another blow to bank customers who rely on over-the-counter services.
The move by the state-backed firm run by chief executive Alison Rose is on top of the 43 branches it had already planned to shut.
And it brings the total number of branch closures by banks this year to 263. Since 2015, banks have axed 5,201 sites – 53 per cent of all branches – according to analysis from the consumer rights group Which?.
Closures: Natwest, run by chief exec Alison Rose (pictured) will axe 23 more bank branches before June
Last year 662 closed, it found. Barclays shut the most – 184.
Many towns and villages no longer have a bank branch, leaving communities without access to cash and basic banking services.
Critics have lambasted the banks for leaving older and vulnerable people without a financial lifeline. Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, said that it would be a particularly serious blow for the millions of older people who rely on bank branches due to a lack of confidence with mobile banking.
She said: ‘The scale of the bank branch cull over recent years just seems to be getting worse.
‘With about 2.5m older people reliant on cash and the Government legislating to protect access, it’s always disappointing to see services slashed and people being left unable to manage their money.’
The majority of the closures announced by NatWest are in southern England, with three in Kent and three in West Sussex.
The most northerly branch to close is Heslington in North Yorkshire, and the most southerly is Torquay in Devon.
It comes less than a week after Lloyds said it will shut 40 branches across England and Wales between April and June.
HSBC is due to close 114 sites this year, Barclays will axe 26 branches, and Santander will shut five.
According to Which? there were 9,869 bank branches in 2015. But since then banks have shut, or announced plans to close, 5,464 of those locations.
It means more than half of all branches have vanished, with lenders blaming a shift to mobile and online banking as the reason for axing their network.
Meanwhile, the number of cash machines across Britain fell by 1,294 last year to 51,253.
Despite that, withdrawals were up for the first time in more than a decade. A total of £83billion was taken out from ATMs in 2022, compared with £79billion in 2021, according to data from cash machine network Link.
Experts suggest people are turning to cash to help them manage their finances better during the cost of living crisis.
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