Over 100 bank branches are scheduled for closure in 2026, continuing the trend of high street retreat by major banks. This year, closure dates have been confirmed for 73 branches of well-known banks such as Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland.
Additionally, 29 branches have announced closure plans without final dates set yet, totaling 102 closures. Lloyds leads with 40 branches nearing closure or awaiting final dates. Santander, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, and NatWest follow with 18, 17, 15, and 7 branches respectively marked for closure.
Last year, both Lloyds and Santander revealed closure plans attributing the decision to the shift of customer preferences towards mobile banking services. By the end of this month, 35 branches will have closed, with two more closures in February and 23 in March.
The remaining closures are scheduled for July and October or are pending confirmation. Cornwall is heavily impacted by the bank closures, with four branches already designated for closure and two awaiting finalized closure dates this year.
In the previous years, there were 13 closures in 2025, six in 2024, 14 in 2023, and six in 2022, totaling 45 bank closures. Scotland’s Highland council area is expected to lose six banks this year, including two without announced closure dates.
Scotland will see a loss of 20 banks in total, with five closures in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. Among the 76 remaining closures in England, the South East and South West regions are most affected, each facing closure of 17 bank branches.
Since February 2022, 2,065 branches have either closed or announced closure plans after major banking groups agreed to evaluate the impact of each closure voluntarily.
An average of one closure per day or eight per week occurs under the LINK initiative, ensuring vulnerable customers and small businesses are supported during the transition to digital and virtual banking. In areas left without local banks, banking hubs or free ATMs are established to fill the service gap.
Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at LINK, highlighted the increasing digital banking trend but emphasized the importance of cash services, with over £76 billion withdrawn from LINK cash machines last year. LINK assesses impacts of branch closures and ensures additional cash services where needed.
Gareth Oakley, CEO of Cash Access UK, noted the shift towards digital banking and the opening of more banking hubs to cater to customers relying on cash and face-to-face services. The growth of banking hubs, deposit services, and innovative cash solutions aim to provide easy access to cash for businesses and consumers.