HSBC is to shut another 62 branches this year – on top of 55 already earmarked for closure – in a move it blames on customers increasingly conducting their banking through the internet and mobile phones.

Unions said it was a “dark day” for HSBC’s workforce, with 180 roles being lost in branches alongside 204 IT positions being put at risk.

The bank will be left with 625 branches by the end of the year, which means it will have more than halved its high street presence since June 2011 when it had 1,301 branches.

Dominic Hook, the Unite national officer for finance, said: “Unite is again calling on the banking industry to rethink such branch culling exercises, which do nothing to reassure customers or staff that banking is accessible and open to all. Without doubt customer service in financial services will suffer if our high streets are left with no local branches. The banking industry must act to prevent confidence in our banking system falling further.”

The bank said this signalled the end of a closure programme under which 340 branches will have been shut since the start of 2016 following a pledge by the chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, to streamline the bank and cut 25,000 jobs globally.

António Simões, head of HSBC’s UK banking arm, said: “This marks the end of our branch restructuring programme. We now feel we have the right branch network that complements the other ways in which customers now choose to interact with us. We will continue to invest for the benefit of our customers as we build HSBC UK, a better bank for our people and customers.”

More than 90% of customer contacts were through digital channels, up from 80% last year, the bank said.

HSBC’s announcement came as the Post Office reached a deal with the banking sector to make its 11,600 outlets available to more bank customers.



Customers of virtually every bank in Britain will now be able to access over-the-counter cash, cheque, debit and credit card services, with real-time payments into accounts.

The Post Office said it would now be able to handle 99% of UK personal bank customers and over 75% of business customers in what it called “the biggest expansion in face-to-face banking access in a generation”.

Until now, some banks had offered only limited access to their services through post offices, particularly for business customers. Apart from the high street banks, the new deal brings in “challenger” players such as TSB and Virgin Money.

“By making sure alternative counter-based banking services are accessible through the Post Office, the impact of local branch closures on communities can be minimised,” the Post Office said.

It estimates that 99.7% of the UK population live within three miles of a post office, and that early morning and late evening opening hours, especially on Sunday, will appeal to domestic and business customers alike. The Post Office is the UK’s largest retailer to open on Sundays, with more than 4,000 branches.

HSBC branch closure list