HSBC is to shut a 114 branches in the UK – more than a quarter of its network – taking the number or branches the bank has down to 327 by the end of August 2023.
The closest branches affected to Swindon are Cirencester, Chippenham and Stroud.
The announcement comes just weeks after the HSBC banking group reported pre-tax profits that were £584million more than predicted.
Announcing the decision, the bank said that the decline in branch use, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, has seen some branches serving less than 250 customers a week.
Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s managing director of UK distribution, said: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning.
“Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.”
Ms Uhi said customers will be able to access services such as “soon-to-come banking hubs, alongside live chat, social media and telephone banking.
“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area.
“We’ve invested heavily in our ‘post closure’ strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally.”
The bank said its aim was to redeploy all affected staff, but it added that “we may see around 100 people leave the bank” as a result of the changes.
The HSBC branches that are set to close next year are:
In April: Abergavenny, Alton, Bexhill on Sea, Blandford Forum, Bristol Downend, Cromer, Leominster, Market Bosworth, Shaftesbury, St Austell, St Ives
In May: Arnold, Bideford, Brecon, Bridport, Brighouse, Bristol Filton, Coleraine, Didcot, Dover, Dundee, Fakenham, Gainsborough, Halesowen, Hove, Launceston, Leicester 11 Hinckley Road, Liskeard, Market Harborough, Minehead, Stamford, Stourport on Severn, Stroud, Sudbury, Waltham Cross, Whitby, Whitley Bay, Wilmslow
In June: Beccles, Bicester, Chepstow, Frome, Hertford, Honiton, Ilkley, Knutsford, Lewes, New Milton, Oakham, Penarth, Pocklington, Pontypool, Portadown, Ross on Wye, Skipton, Sleaford, South Shields, St Neots, Stirling, Twickenham, Wadebridge, Wells
In July: Blackwood, Bognor Regis, Bromborough, Christchurch, Coalville, Droitwich, Gosforth, Harpenden, Horsforth, Kingswinford, Leatherhead, Long Eaton, Marlow, Norwich Mile Cross, Palmers Green, Port Talbot, Portishead, Ripley, Seaford, Southampton Park Gate, Tonbridge, Wetherby
In August: Ashton under Lyne, Bethnal Green, Bristol Westbury on Trym, Cardiff Rhyd y Penau, Chippenham, Cirencester, Colwyn Bay, Denbigh, Dorchester, Eastwood, Henley on Thames, Hornchurch, Kenilworth, Leighton Buzzard, London 122 Finchley Road, Morley, North Finchley, Ormskirk, Putney, Reigate, Ryde, Windsor, Wymondham
TBC: Cowbridge, Epworth, Holsworthy, Hythe, Oxted, Settle, Tenby
