Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Halifax customers face new branch rules under Labour government

Labour has given Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Halifax customers a huge boost – by building banking centres. The new Labour government plans to open banking centres amid high street banking giants closing branches across the country.

Labour warned: “Since 2022 alone, 385 towns have seen their last bank branch close or announce they will close soon. This has left local residents and businesses without the ability to bank locally.”

It added: “Thriving high streets need banking services for local businesses and customers. Labour will launch banking centres to deliver face-to-face banking to every community, strengthening local high streets and shops. The costs of opening and running the centres will be met collectively by the banks.”

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Labour’s Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “After 14 years of Conservative rule, many of our high streets have been reduced to ghost towns. This election is a chance to vote for change that will end the chaos and decline and make our high streets better. Labour’s plan for growth will bring banking back to the high street, with hundreds of new banking centres that can support local communities and their businesses.”

The Liberal Democrats said they wanted to support banking hubs and were committed to “protecting access to cash, especially in remote areas”. This would include a “national financial inclusion strategy” that would require the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority to give more consideration to ensuring banking and financial services are open to all.

It follows a warning from Which? that banks and building societies have closed 6,005 branches since January 2015, at a rate of around 53 each month. NatWest Group, which includes NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, closed 1,360 branches – the most of any banking group. Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, closed 1,146 branches.

Barclays is the bank that has reduced its network the most, with 1,216 branches already closed.