A MAJOR bank has announced it will not be shutting down any more branches in 2024.
HSBC has said it will continue to refurbish its current branches and also look to expand community locations.
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In a message to its customers Jose Carvalho, head of wealth and personal banking at HSBC, said: “We’re putting our efforts into the things that our customers have asked for.”
He added that the bank would be “significantly upgrading” its mobile banking app and also look to expand its pop-up branches and banking hubs.
A spokesperson for HSBC confirmed the statement made by Mr Carvalho and said that the company is continuing to invest tens of millions of pounds into its branch network.
They added that there is a “strong focus” for 2024 on maintaining and improving its local presence, alongside digital and remote banking.
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It comes as the banking giant announced in November its plans to shut down 114 branches.
The bank locations have already been revealed and will close down from April 2023, we have the full list here.
Earlier this year 63 branches of HSBC already closed down and 82 branches closed in 2022.
In total a staggering 1,O00 HSBC branches have closed over the past decade.
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There will be just 327 HSBC branches left after the closures that we already know about.
Many customers are switching to online banking and footfall in physical branches has fallen rapidly since the pandemic.
HSBC said that some of the branches that are marked for closure serve less than 250 customers a week.
Meanwhile, usage of the mobile app has tripled since 2017.
HSBC previously told The Sun that it hopes to move members of staff from the closing branches to other positions within the company.
But, it may have to let around 100 people go.
Of the remaining 327 branches, 94 will be “full service”.
Another 81 will be “cash service” offering access to cash and simple over the counter services and 152 will be “digital service” with no counters and self-service points.
HSBC isn’t the only bank closing branches.
This month Barclays has closed 13 branches and Lloyds Bank has to brought down the shutters at 23 of its branches.
For the full list of bank closures see our roundup here.
What can you do if you are worried about losing your local branch?
If you are someone who is going to be affected by your local bank branch closing down, you do have other options.
Closures can be a worry, particularly for elderly people in rural areas who do not have access to the internet.
However, you should know that a lot of daily banking tasks can be carried out at the post office.
You won’t be able to apply for a loan or open a new bank account, but you will be able to do basic banking.
If you do not know where your nearest post office branch is, you can use the locator tool on its website.
Meanwhile, many banks offer a mobile banking service – where they bring a bus to your area offering services you can usually get at a physical branch.
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Other banks use buildings such as village halls or libraries to offer mobile banking services.
It’s worth contacting your bank to see what services they have available, and when they might next be in your area.
