Two Wolverhampton TSB branches to close in cutbacks

Two Wolverhampton branches of TSB are poised to close later this year after bosses unveiled plans to 'fine tune' the bank's operation.

Branches in Bargate Drive, Whitmore Reans and Trysull Road, Bradmore will shut in November, with staff set to be offered roles in other local branches.

The city's main branch in Queen Street is set to undergo a major refurbishment and will close for four weeks before reopening in October.

TSB is set to close 25 banks across the UK over the next year. It comes after the bank warned that profits will come under pressure as rock bottom interest rates and soaring IT costs are set to weigh on the group.

MORE: Lloyds to cut 3,000 banks and close 200 branches as profits double

The TSB in Bargate Drive, Whitmore Reans, will also shut later in the year

TSB spokesman Anthony Hua said that in Wolverhampton there were 'a number of branches clustered together' that were 'often competing with each other'.

"We found that our customers were using and preferred other branches, such as the nearby branch at 2 Queen Street," he said.

"As well as having fewer customers overall, we also found that the branches at Bargate Drive and Trysull Road were becoming less and less used over time.

"We have therefore decided to close the two branches and invest in the nearby Queen Street branch as part of our £250 million investment into our branch and digital offering, announced last year.

"This investment focuses on ensuring customers in this part of the UK can experience both a personal banking service and the benefits of modern banking technology."

The spokesman added that TSB maintained its commitment to having a 'strong, fit-for-purpose branch network'.

The 25 planned closures include three branches in Birmingham.

TSB was taken over by Spain's Banco de Sabadell after it broke away from Lloyds Banking Group three years ago.

It saw profits more than double in the first half of 2016, but said the performance was unlikely to be repeated in 2017 as it faces a tougher year.

The bank is facing a £125m hike to costs for IT systems next year, which it must pay former owner Lloyds.

The group posted a 144.8 per cent surge in underlying profits on a management basis to £107.7m for the six months to the end of June, with pre-tax profits jumping to £125.4m, up from £23.2m a year earlier.

In April it was revealed taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest is closing another 32 branches across Britain.

HSBC is expected to axe about 200 branches this year.