New ‘micro branches’ will not have counters, with customers using self-service machines and video links

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Lloyds Banking Group is to shrink the size of hundreds of its branches so they have only two staff with tablet computers helping customers.

The new “micro branches” will not have counters, with customers paying in cash and cheques through self-service machines and talking to mortgage advisers through video links.

Alongside the micro branches it will open 20 larger banks in city centres, offering a wider ranger of services, and introduce 20 new mobile branches operating out of vans.

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“Branches are a vital part of our strategy, and we’re investing in our network to make sure it’s right for the future. We’re transforming branches, responding to customers and giving them choice, including new flagship branches in city centre locations, and introducing some smaller micro-formats alongside our community and mobile branches,” a Lloyds spokeswoman said.

The new micro branch format is based on a pilot at an existing branch near St Paul’s Cathedral in London.



Banks are closing branches across the country due to the rise of online banking. Lloyds – which owns Bank of Scotland and Halifax – has already announced plans to close 400 of its branches, with more than 9,000 job losses, while last month Royal Bank of Scotland said it was shutting 158 sites, mostly NatWest’s, and the Co-operative Bank is battling to find a buyer amid fears about its future.

In January, HSBC said it was shutting a further 62 branches this year, on top of 55 already earmarked for closure, while Yorkshire Building Society revealed it was closing 48 branches, 28 of which are Norwich & Peterborough outlets.



Susan Kramer, the Treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said: “Lloyds and other banks are turning their backs on the communities that have been the foundation of its business for generations.”

The downsizing of Lloyds branches was revealed as the government cut its stake in Lloyds to below 2%.

UK Financial Investments, which manages the stake in Lloyds, sold off about 1% of the shares in the bank. This left it with a stake of 1.97% and edges the bank another step closer to full private ownership.



The sale means more than £20bn has now been returned to government coffers since the lender’s £20.3bn bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

This includes about £500m in payouts to shareholders since the bank resumed paying dividends in 2014 as it has returned to profit growth in recent years.

The stake sale is the latest in a series by the government, which said in October that it hoped to offload its remaining shares in Lloyds within a year. The City expects Lloyds to return to full private ownership by June.

Simon Kirby, the economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “I welcome this further progress in returning Lloyds to the private sector. We have now recovered over £20bn for the taxpayer and are very close to recovering all of the money taxpayers injected into the bank during the financial crisis.”

