Nearly 60 bank branches will have closed by the end of next year in Scotland with potentially more to come. In the last 12 months banking bosses at Barclays, Lloyds, Natwest and TSB have close nearly 40 units across the country.
Communities across the country face losing their facilities as the industry continues to shed locations where physical banking can take place. Nineteen will shut throughout this year but it doesn’t include swathes of bases that have been binned earlier in 2024.
Bank of Scotland and Barclays closed six branches in 2024 while Royal Bank of Scotland shut down 17. TSB also went through a closure programme and has already pulled the shutter on 19 units.
Banks say footfall has fallen at branches with more customers opting to bank online. This has resulted in the constant closures of the money storage unit and more to come.
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Bank of Scotland is set to close 16 this year from the central belt to the Highlands, with the Royal Bank of Scotland closing two of its Inverness branches to be relocated to a new £2.5m branch in Falcon Square, TSB announced the closure of one branch in Scotland.
A spokesman for RBS said over 80% of its current account holders used digital banking while 97% of retail accounts are opened online. He also said there would be no further closures until at least 2026.
Barclays closed many branches in early 2024
(Image: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
They added: “We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we are investing c£10.5m in our network across Scotland, from 2023-24, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and banking hubs. Our customers appreciate the speed and convenience of digital banking for everyday transactions, and often, when it comes to making bigger, more complex decisions they value speaking to our skilled and experienced colleagues.
“Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations and we’ve been responding to the industry wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation.”
A spokesperson for Lloyds, which owns Bank of Scotland, said: “We’re always looking for ways to make banking easier and more flexible for our customers so, from later this year, we’ll offer customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland the option to use branches of any brand for their in-person banking, alongside our apps, mobile messaging, and telephone services.”
A TSB spokesman said: “The decision to close a branch is never taken lightly, but our customers are now doing most of their banking digitally and we need to move to a better balance of digital and face-to-face services. We remain committed to a national branch network and through innovation and integration with video, telephone, digital, branch and other face-to-face services TSB customers have more ways to bank with us than ever before.” HSBC have vowed not to close anymore branches until 2026 at the earlier.
Barclays 2024 closures
- Ayr, Ayrshire – May 10, 2024
- Dundee, March 15, 2024
- Inverness, West Lothian May 17, 2024
- Livingston, West Lothian May 10, 2024
- Perth, Perth and Kinross, March 3, 2024
- Shawlands, Glasgow, April 26, 2024
Bank of Scotland 2024 closures
- Bonnyrigg, Midlothian – October 16, 2024
- Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute – October 29, 2024
- Edinburgh Portobello, Edinburgh – October 22, 2024
- Ellon, Aberdeenshire – September 10, 2024
- Mallaig, Highland – October 16, 2024
- Strathaven, South Lanarkshire – December 3, 2024
Bank of Scotland 2025 closures
- Banff, Aberdeenshire – May 8, 2025
- Bathgate, West Lothian – June 30, 2025
- Callander, Stirling – March 20, 2025
- Cowdenbeath, Fife – June 25, 2025
- Dunfermline Bothwell, Fife – 21 January, 2025
- Golspie, Highland – February 4, 2025
- Kirkcaldy Mitchelston, Fife – January 21, 2025
- Kyle, Highland – January 27, 2025
- Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway – April 7, 2025
- Leven High Street, Fife – May 7, 2025
- Linlithgow, West Lothian – June 23, 2025
- Montrose, Angus – March 10, 2025
- Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway – June 23, 2025
- North Berwick, East Lothian – February 19, 2025
- Rothesay, Argyll and Bute – June 30, 2025
- Wick, Highland, June 25, 2025
Royal Bank of Scotland 2024 closures
- Aberdeen St Nicholas, Aberdeen – October 9, 2024
- Bathgate, West Lothian – 14 November, 2024
- Cumbernauld Tay Walk, North Lanarkshire – 13 November, 2024
- Dundee Kingsway Circus, Dundee- October 8, 2024
- East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire –
- Edinburgh Brunstfield, Edinburgh – November 12, 2024
- Edinburgh Leith, Edinburgh – October 10, 2024
- Edinburgh Nicolson Street, Edinburgh – November 20, 2024
- Glasgow Cardonald, Glasgow – September 17, 2024
- Glasgow Charing Cross, Glasgow – November 19, 2024
- Glasgow Rutherglen West, South Lanarkshire -November 19, 2024
- Glasgow Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow – November 19, 2024
- Helensburgh, Argyle and Bute – November 20, 2024
- Largs, North Ayrshire – November 21, 2024
- New Deer, Aberdeenshire – November 26, 2024
- Newbridge, Edinburgh- November 25, 2024
- Wishaw, North Lanarkshire – November 25, 2024
Royal Bank of Scotland 2025 closures
- Inverness Chief Office, Highland – February 20, 2025, relocating to £2.5 million branch at Falcon Square
- Inverness Eastgate, Highland – February 20, 2025, relocating to £2.5 million branch at Falcon Square
TSB 2024 closures
- Alloa, Clackmannanshire – October 18, 2024
- Edinburgh Leith, Edinburgh – September 17, 2024
- Glasgow Cardonald, Glasgow – October 21, 2024
- Glasgow Castlemilk, Glasgow – October 22, 2024
- Haddington, East Lothian – September 5, 2024
- Lerwick, Shetland – September 10, 2024
- Leven, Fife – October 17, 2024
- Peterhead, Aberdeenshire – October 22, 2024
- Stornoway, Western Isles – September 3, 2024
TSB Closure 2025
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Banff, Aberdeenshire – May 2025