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Lloyds Banking Group will allow its Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland customers to use any of its branches across its three brands, fueling union concerns that the UK lender is preparing to close hundreds of positions and ax more jobs.
In a memo to staff setting out priorities for the year, Lloyds head of consumer relations Jayne Opperman said the group had to “evolve how [it] Supporting customers in physical branches even as “more people are choosing mobile over any other way to bank”.
“So — from later this year — we will make it possible for customers to use any of our Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland branches, regardless of the brand they bank with, giving them access to the largest combined branch network in the UK,” he added. did
A quarter of the UK’s biggest high street banking group are close to branches, Lloyds said in an internal presentation to 2023 seen by the Financial Times. High-street banks have around 932 branches as per trade union accord.
Consolidating banking services across different brands could make some of these branches redundant, adding to concerns that it could pave the way for another mass closure.
Mark Brown, general secretary of the BTU, an independent union at Lloyds, said the main driver behind the decision was to “make it easier for Lloyds to close more branches and save more money” rather than improving the customer experience.
“We estimate that Lloyds will be able to close 233 branches at the virtual drop of a hat, with thousands of staff losing their jobs,” he added.
Lloyd’s said it was “always looking for ways to make banking easier and more flexible for our customers”.
High street banks have closed more than 6,000 branches in the past decade, consumer group Which?
These closures have helped reduce lenders’ costs, but strained local communities’ access to cash and financial services. According to ATM network provider Link, more than 7 in 10 UK adults use cash at least once a fortnight.
The Labor government has pledged to speed up the rollout of so-called banking hubs, run jointly by the bank, Cash Access UK and the Post Office, where lenders have retreated. It has set a target of 350 hubs during the current Parliament.
Lloyds’ strategy under chief executive Charlie Nunn is to “deepen its relationship” with customers as it becomes increasingly digital. As part of that effort, the bank reviewed 2,500 jobs and began a round of job cuts in 2023.
Opperman said in his memo that a key priority for the group was growing its mobile app users – up from 20 million currently – and that it would update its Halifax and Bank of Scotland mobile apps in the coming weeks.
“I know change can feel scary, but when we embrace it, we create better results for both our customers and colleagues,” he adds.
