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British retail bank Lloyds Banking Group PLC on Wednesday announced plans to close 60 more branches as customers increasingly switched to online banking during the Covid pandemic.
Lloyds said in a statement it would shut 24 Lloyds, 19 Bank of Scotland and 17 Halifax-branded branches by the end of the year, affecting more than 100 jobs.
Lloyds director Vim Maru said fewer customers were visiting branches in-person, adding the closures were fuelled by a ‘need to adapt’.
Lloyds has 18.6 million online banking customers and more than 15 million mobile app users.
Both segments have grown by 12% and 27% respectively since the start of the pandemic.
Caren Evans at the Unite union said Lloyds must not be permitted to ‘abandon 60 more local communities’, arguing that when a bank branch closed, ‘the heart of the local community is ripped out’.
Lloyds decision comes one week after rival HSBC Holdings PLC said it would shut 69 UK branches, impacting more than 400 staff.
source: AFP
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