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Coronavirus: HSBC to close 82 high street branches

A woman uses a cash point machine at a HSBC bank in the City of London February 28, 2011. HSBC cut its profitability targets due to the cost of tougher banking regulations, joining rivals such as Barclays, and disappointed investors with below forecast 2010 earnings.    REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BUSINESS)
A woman uses a cash point machine at a HSBC bank in the City of London. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Winning

HSBC (HSBCA.L) said on Tuesday that it would move to close 82 of its high street bank branches this year, saying that more customers are turning to online services instead.

The bank said it aims to redeploy the vast majority of staff to nearby branches and does not expect any redundancies from the move.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s head of network, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for the changes that we are making.

“It hasn’t pushed us in a different direction but reinforces the things that we were focusing on before and has crystallised our thinking. This is a strategic direction that we need to take to have a branch network fit for the future."

The closures will bring the total number of branches to 511 and will be phased throughout the year,

The bank’s shares were trading 2.1% higher at 12.15pm in London.

READ MORE: Goldman Sachs: Vaccine rollout could spark bumper bounce back for UK

The move comes amid a flurry of companies reassessing working space amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread move to working from home has led to many companies reassessing their office space overheads.

In October, accounting firm Deloitte said it would shut four of its 50 UK offices as it looked at its real estate portfolio in the UK. It retained 500 staff based in those offices on working from home contracts.

Virgin Money (VMUK.L) and Metro Bank (MTRO.L) have also made plans to convert parts of branches into flexible working space, according to the FT. The report also said Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) would begin testing similar measures from October.

A combination of swathes of businesses saying employees will work from home until the new year, and downsizing at many firms has left business leaders questioning their commercial office arrangements. This has brought uncertainty in the property market.

Full list of branches and planned closure dates:

  • Friday 23 April: Edinburgh, Princess St

  • Friday 7 May: Brighton, Ditchling Road; Hull, Merit House; Wednesbury; Sutton Coldfield, Four Oaks

  • Friday 14 May: Hull, Holderness Road; Pontyclun Talbot Green; London, Fleet Street; London, Fenchurch Street

  • Friday 21 May: London, Old Broad Street; London, Charing Cross; Sheffield, Darnall; Oxford, Summertown

  • Friday 28 May: Leeds, Chapel Allerton; Cardiff, Rumney; Torquay, Strand; Staines

  • Friday 4 June: Plymouth, Forder House; Belper, King Street; Colchester; London, Whitechapel

  • Friday 11 June: London, Marylebone; London, Streatham Hill; Falkirk High Street; Fleet, Fleet Road

  • Friday 18 June: Reading, Woodley; Oxford, Headington; Swansea, Gorseinon; Wigston, Leicester Road

  • Friday 25 June: Tavistock, Bedford Square; Bristol, Nailsea; Leeds, Cross Gates; Yate, North Walk

  • Friday 2 July: London, Kingsbury Road; Cleckheaton, Bradford Road Bexleyheath, Broadway London, South Woodford

  • Friday 9 July: Birmingham, Erdington; Goole, Wesley Square; Congleton, High Street; Formby, Chapel Lane

  • Friday 16 July: Gillingham, Kent; Dunstable, West Street; Chorley, Market Street; Pontypridd, Taff Street

  • Friday 23 July: Felixstowe, Hamilton Road; Godalming, High Street; Prestatyn, High Street; London, Southgate

  • Friday 30 July: Tewkesbury, High Street; Maldon, High Street; Hatfield; Herts; Huntingdon, High Street

  • Friday 6 August: Stockport, Bramhall; London, Russell Square; Richmond, Market Place

  • Friday 13 August: Loughton, High Road Rustington, The Street Exmouth, Chapel Street

  • Friday 20 August: Bournemouth, Winton; Liverpool, University; Cleveleys, Victoria Square; Clevedon, Triangle

  • Friday 27 August: Northallerton, High Street; Walton-on-Thames, High Street; London, High Holborn

  • Friday 3 September: Barry, Holton Road; Aldershot, Wellington Street; Eastcote, Field End Road; London, Edgware Road

  • Friday 10 September: Ramsgate, High Street; Manchester, Chorlton-Cum-Hardy; Letchworth, Station Place; London, Hackney

  • Friday 17 September: Barnet, High Street; Deal, High Street; Cheshunt, Turners Hill; Swadlincote, High Street

  • Friday 24 September: Dorking, West Street; Welshpool, Broad Street; London, Surrey Quays; Worksop, Bridge Street

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