Research shows rate of branch closures is four times faster than in wealthy areas

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Banks are closing branches in deprived communities in England four times faster than in wealthy areas.

High street banks have collectively closed 990 branches in the most deprived areas of the country since 2010, compared with 230 in the richest local authorities.

The digital bank Pockit, which conducted the research, said a quarter of the poorest local authorities had lost more than 40% of their bank branches – totalling 705 closures – over an eight-year period.

Between 2010 and 2018 about 5,035 bank and building society branches in England closed, a rate of almost two every day, it said.

In Bradford, the 30th poorest local authority, the number of branches has dropped from 190 to 75, a 60% fall. At the same time Windsor and Maidenhead lost 17%.

Pockit has claimed that people without access to a bank account face paying up to an extra £485 each year because they miss out on preferential discounts on utility bills. There are thought be about 1.2 million individuals who do not use a bank account, relying on cash instead.

“Big banks are marginalising the poorest in society by shutting up shop and leaving them behind,” said Pockit’s chief executive, Virraj Jatania. “These findings suggest that high street lenders prefer serving the most well-off rather than the most in need. Banks should be supporting customers to improve their financial health, not abandoning them.”

Gareth Shaw, the head of money content at the consumer group Which?, said banks needed to provide suitable alternatives before they shut branches.

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“Our research shows that consumers in the two lowest household income groups rely on cash the most, but these people are struggling to access this vital payment method through the double blow of bank branch and cashpoint closures.”

The Treasury select committee recently called for basic bank accounts to be accessible to all consumers regardless of whether they are eligible for another bank account, and recommended that the Financial Conduct Authority mandate banks to relax their opening restrictions on these accounts.

The banks use their own set of criteria to test a customer’s eligibility for a basic bank account, leaving vulnerable customers with no certainty as to how they can meet the requirements.