Lloyds Bank to close 136 branches across the UK

Lloyds is set to halt operations for 61 of its branches, as well as 61 Halifax ones and 14 Bank of Scotland sites between May 2025 and March 2026. When it comes to its employees, the bank stated that the staff working in the branches would be provided a role at another branch or in a different part of the business. Lloyds’ announcement follows news from earlier in January 2025 when the bank informed its staff that its Halifax, Lloyds, and Bank of Scotland customers would be able to leverage any of its branches across the three brands. This sparked extensive speculation about its plans to close down branches.

Moreover, this current round of closures is set to bring Lloyds’ total number of branches to 757, after the bank already intended to halt operations at 55 branches between January and September 2025, as detailed by Accord. Having nearly 60,000 employees, Lloyds also recently announced its plans to reduce its jobs by 500 and shut down two offices in Liverpool and Dunfermline.

Why is Lloyds closing down branches? 

At the time of writing, Lloyds was entering the final stages of a GBP 4 million investment strategy which intended to scale its revenue from sources that were not based on interest rates. Additionally, the plan included digitising the bank’s operations to minimise costs and optimise returns. A person familiar with the matter cited by the Financial Times mentioned that the decision to shut down the branches can be attributed to changing customer behaviours.

However, consumer groups disagree with this, highlighting that the exit of bank branches from local communities puts a strain on accessing cash and financial services. Despite the increase in the use of digital banking solutions, UK residents still prefer to leverage cash for their expenses, with seven in 10 adults utilising cash at least once a fortnight. To assist in this matter, the Labour Government aims to scale the launch of banking hubs run jointly by banks, Cash Access UK, and the Post Office in regions where lenders have shut down their branches.