The Black Country HSBC branches set to shut next year as bank announces 114 closures

They are among 114 branches across the UK that the banking giant says it it will shut from next April in the face of declining footfall.

The Halesowen branch in Great Cornbow and the branch in High Street, Stourport, are set to close on May 16 and 30 respectively, while the Market Street branch in Kingswinford is set to shut its doors on July 11.

The bank said it is investing tens of millions of pounds in updating and improving its remaining branch network, which will total 327 after the new wave of closures.

The decline in customers using branches has accelerated so much since the Covid pandemic that some of those closing are serving fewer than 250 people a week, HSBC said.

On the other hand, usage of its mobile app has almost tripled since 2017, with the vast majority of transactions completed digitally.

HSBC says that around 100 staff could leave the bank as a result of plans to axe the 114 branches.

The group stressed that it hopes to redeploy all its employees at affected branches to other roles within HSBC, either to other branches or to a different position.

It plans to speak to all staff in the branches due to close but it estimates that around 100 employees could leave.

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.

"The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so 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, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking."

Some of the branches closing are currently serving fewer that 250 customers a week, said the bank.

HSBC stressed that it hopes to redeploy all its employees at affected locations to other roles within HSBC, either to other branches or to a different position. It plans to speak to all staff in those due to close but it estimates that around 100 employees could lose their jobs.

It is developing new “banking hubs” and community pop-ups in its shake-up of the  network and plugging more investment into digital banking services. Since 2021 it has provided 1,500 free Samsung tablet devices to customers selected by local branches who cannot afford or have no access to equipment to help with digital banking, HSBC said.