NATWEST will close 53 bank branches in a fresh blow to the UK high street. The major lender said it will shutter the branches in multiple locations from this year. The firm has already reduced its portfolio of physical branches in recent years, as young customers continue to favour online banking.
![[NatWest bank sign.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/file-photo-dated-18-03-896854809.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Last year Natwest Group closed 48 sites and in 2023 it shuttered nearly 20 branches. NatWest has over 19 million customers and it says over 3.5 million customers use online banking. Since 2015, NatWest Group, which encompasses NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Ulster Bank, has closed 1,409 branches.
Natwest is just one of many high street lenders looking to reduce their portfolio in recent years. Banks and building societies have closed 6,161 branches since January 2015 at a rate of around 53 each month, according to Which?. Lloyds Banking Group, comprising Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland, has shut down 1,216 sites.
Barclays is the individual bank that has reduced its network the most, with 1,227 branch closures. Here is the full list of NatWest branches closing this year:. A NatWest spokesperson told The Sun: "Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online.
“Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations and we’ve been responding to the industry wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation.".
