The closures affect every region of England as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
A sign for Lloyds Bank.(Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Almost 250 banks are due to close in 2026 as the major banks continue their withdrawal from high streets and town centres.
Since 1 January, 138 banks have shut across the UK, with 82 branches due to close in June alon – and more to follow throughout the year.
In total, closure dates have been fixed for 245 branches of the major banks by the end of this year.
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Lloyds customers have been hardest hit, with 82 branches already shut or scheduled to close this year. That’s along with 43 branches of Halifax and 28 branches of Bank of Scotland.
That comes after Lloyds Banking Group announced it would close 166 branches in 2026 and 2027, including branches of Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds Bank. The decision was blamed on customers shifting away from in-person banking to using mobile services.
Meanwhile, Santander is closing 54 branches this year, and NatWest is closing 35 banks.
Natwest is closing 35 branches this year.(Image: Matt Crossick/PA Wire)
The closures affect every part of the UK, with 31 branches due to shutter in Scotland, 16 in Wales, and four in Northern Ireland, with the rest spread across England.
The South East region will see the most closures in England, with 37, followed by London (28), the South West (23), and the West Midlands. Among council areas, Birmingham and Cornwall will each lose six branches this year, the joint-highest loss.
Cornwall has been hit harder by the banks’ retreat from the high street than any other part of the UK, with 42 branch closures in the last four years.
See a map of closures planned for 2026 here:
Since February 2022, when all major banking groups committed to a voluntary agreement to assess the impact of each closure, a total of 2,167 branches have either shut down or announced plans to close. That’s an average of nearly 10 closures each week.
The LINK initiative was established to scrutinise each closure and ensure that vulnerable customers and small businesses were not left behind in the transition to cashless payments and virtual banking.
When closures leave communities without any local bank, banking hubs or free ATMs are set up to fill the gap. So far, LINK has recommended the opening of 277 bank hubs.
In May, the Government announced an independent review into access to banking, to be led by Richard Lloyd – the ex-Director General of Which? and the former interim Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). As part of the review, Mr Lloyd has launched a consultation on the impact of branch closures and what they mean for the future.
Currently, closure assessments focus on cash access and the potential gap left by a branch closure. But this assessment could be extended to include access to banking, which could mean recommending new banking hubs at branches that have already been assessed for closure, as well as at future sites.
A person using an ATM machine.(Image: GETTY)
Experts believe the previous commitment of 350 hubs could increase to 550 if these changes are implemented.
Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at LINK: “More people are choosing to bank and pay for things digitally. Many people rely entirely on their smartphones when they leave the home, and don’t carry cash or even a wallet.
“That means cash use is falling too, but it remains critical, and over £76bn was withdrawn from LINK cash machines last year.”
He added: “Whenever a bank branch does close, LINK will assess the impact to see if additional cash services are required. We’re committed to protecting the cash infrastructure for the millions of people who still rely on it.”
Gareth Oakley, CEO of Cash Access UK: “The way people are banking is changing as more people choose to bank and pay for things digitally. But for those people who still rely on cash and face-to-face banking services, the good news is that more banking hubs are opening every week. We’ve opened more than 200 now, including 100 in 2025 alone.
“What’s particularly brilliant about hubs is that we can serve the customers of all the major high street banks in one location,” Mr Oakley added. “They’re getting busier too with on average around 150 customer transactions every day. There’s a real buzz about them.
“Hubs alongside deposit services and other new cash solutions will continue to help businesses and consumers to readily access and deposit cash when they need to.”