Economics Editor at The Spectator Michael Simmons discusses the Lloyds banking app glitching, resulting in customers being able to see other people’s transactions, adding ‘it is deeply worrying.’
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Ten Lloyds Bank branches will close their doors next month, hitting communities from Lancashire to Leicestershire.
The shutdowns form part of a sweeping programme by Lloyds Banking Group to axe 240 locations across its network by the end of 2027.
The group, which also operates Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has pointed to a growing shift among its customers towards digital banking as the driving force behind its retreat from the high street.
A further 23 Lloyds branches have already closed or are due to shut during October, affecting towns and cities including Birmingham, Nottingham and Southampton, alongside three Halifax sites.
The November closures will begin on the 3rd and wrap up by the 19th, with Harrogate in North Yorkshire the last to go.
The majority of next month’s closures are concentrated in northern England and the Midlands.
Two branches will shut on November 3, in Accrington, Lancashire, and Wallsend, Tyne and Wear.
On November 5, sites in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and Willenhall, West Midlands, will follow.
A Leicester branch on Melton Road and the Liverpool Huyton location will both close on November 9.
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, loses its Westgate branch on November 10.
Two more closures land on November 11, with a second Leicester branch in Wigston and a Worksop site in Nottinghamshire both shutting.
The final closure comes on November 19, when the Harrogate branch on Cambridge Crescent locks its doors for good. Yorkshire accounts for two of the ten sites affected.
Lloyds Banking Group said: “When making changes to our branch network, we always look to understand the impact on our customers including how they continue to access banking services.”
The group added that it may send a Community Banker to affected areas after a branch shuts. Banking Hubs or Deposit Services could also be established nearby following an independent review.
Customers who lose their local branch can still use any Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland site for cash deposits, withdrawals and cheque payments.
Shared banking hubs operated by the Post Office offer another option, with more than 200 now running across the country.
Critics have warned that closures hit the most vulnerable hardest, particularly those without internet access or the ability to travel to alternative locations.
Not all banks are following the same path, however. Barclays is bucking the trend by extending opening hours and launching three new branches by the end of November.
Two of those sites, in Poole and Bishop’s Stortford, are opening this month, with a third in Beverley due in November.
The openings are part of a broader effort by Barclays to modernise its branch network, with further new locations expected before the close of 2026.
Nationwide has similarly committed to expanding its physical presence, pledging to open new sites in areas where demand for face-to-face banking remains strong.
The wider industry picture remains one of retreat, though. Santander and NatWest are both running significant closure programmes of their own, with all major banks citing the move to online banking as the key factor.
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