Santander to close 44 bank branches across UK with full list revealed

Santander is set to close 44 of its branches in the UK – closing branches will be replaced by weekly visits from Community Bankers or a Banking Hub

Santander plans to close 44 of its bank branches as part of a shake-up of its store network, in a move which puts 291 jobs at risk.

The banking giant said the decision was ‘in response to changing customer behaviour’ as more customers move online to do their banking.

Closing branches will be replaced by a weekly Santander Local service which visits places like libraries or community centres, or at Banking Hub counters provided by the Post Office, the company said.

In a statement today, the bank said: “Approximately 291 colleagues would be placed at risk of redundancy if the proposals proceed after consultation with the unions has been completed, however there will be a number of redeployment opportunities that impacted colleagues can apply for.”

Following the changes, the Santander branch network will consist of 305 branches including 244 full-service branches, 19 counter-free branches, 36 reduced-hour branches, and six Work Cafés, alongside 111 Santander Locals.

Santander has seen a rapid increase in customers choosing to do their banking online, with 96% of all transactions now being completed digitally.

The business reported a 64% rise in digital transactions since 2019 with financial transactions completed in branches reduced by 66% in the same period. There has been a 13% decrease in the volume of financial transactions happening in bank branches in the last year alone, Santander said.

A spokesperson for Santander UK, said: “In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches to better support our customers.

“We will continue to invest in both our branch network – comprising of full-service branches, counter-free branches, reduced-hour branches, Santander Locals, and our increasingly popular Work Cafés – as well as our digital banking services, so we can be there to support our customers however they choose to bank with us.”

Santander said it would be contacting all potentially vulnerable customers by phone to help them find alternative branches to use or access digital, telephone and Post Office banking services.