Four Midlands branches to go as Santander shutting 111 UK banks

It is part of 111 UK branch closures following a review of its operation which involves 840 staff.

Staff at the affected branches were told about the closure plans on Wednesday.

Santander has about 200 roles available in branches that will continue so the overall loss in jobs will be about 600. Its other branches in the West Midlands include Dudley, Stourbridge, Telford, West Bromwich, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The majority of closing branches are under three miles from another Santander branch and the furthest is five miles away and all are within half a mile of at least two free-to-use ATMs.

The closures, which also include Erdington in Birmingham and Harborne, will take place by the end of August in response to the ongoing shift by customers towards mobile and online banking. The long-term trend has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Branch transactions had fallen by 33 per cent over the two years before the pandemic and declined by a further 50 per cent last year.

Mobile and online transactions have meanwhile been growing by 20 per cent a year, with almost two thirds of overall Santander customer transactions now digital.

Santander will retain a network of 452 branches following the proposed changes. All Santander current and business account holders can also bank using one of more than 11,000 Post Office branches nationwide.

Santander will carry out a programme of activities to support customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank that best suit their needs, including help to find alternative branches and access digital, telephone and Post Office banking services. This will include proactively contacting potentially vulnerable customers by phone to provide individual support.

A dedicated phone number - 0800 085 0879 - is available to provide customers with help and information on the closures.

The bank will also hold a series of online events over the coming months where a member of Santander’s branch team will explain alternative ways to bank and the tools and support available.

Consolidate

Santander has consulted its trade unions on the closure proposals and expects to be able to find alternative roles for a significant number of branch staff wishing to stay with the bank.

Adam Bishop, head of branches, said: “Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together. The majority of the closing branches are within three miles of another branch and the furthest is five miles away.

“We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs. We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible. We continue to believe that branches have an important role to play and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.

“We are committed to supporting our customers and responding to changes in the way customers want to access services.”

Santander is also making Milton Keynes its new UK corporate headquarters and is consolidating office sites into six main locations.

Around 5,000 staff based at closing or consolidating sites will be offered new working arrangements combining working from home with access to local collaboration spaces.

Following consultation with its unions, Santander will close its Bootle, Newcastle, London Portman House and Manchester Deansgate offices by the end of 2021. It will also reduce its volume of office space at its London Triton Square, London Ludgate Hill, Leicester Carlton Park and Teesside sites.

Nathan Bostock, Santander UK chief executive, said: “The pandemic has accelerated the existing trend towards greater flexible working, and our colleagues have told us this has brought significant benefits for many of them. At the same time, physical spaces remain very important and our sites around the UK will provide our colleagues with first-class facilities fit for the future.

“We are investing £150 million in our state-of-the-art new campus in Milton Keynes, which will become our new headquarters. Milton Keynes is one of the UK’s leading technology centres and with a number of innovative education and training providers on our doorstep, we believe it will provide us with excellent future access to talent and opportunities for colleagues to innovate and develop their skills.”