HSBC is shutting 62 branches with the loss of up to 180 jobs in a final round of network cuts that signal the end of a restructuring programme in the UK.
The bank, which cut 800 IT positions last year, is axing 200 more this year as part of a cost-reduction plan announced in mid-2015 by Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive. Mr Gulliver warned at the time that up to 8,000 UK jobs would go over two and a half years. Antonio Simoes, chief executive, said the closures will “mark the end” of the two-year branch restructuring, adding: “I don’t have any plans to close more after this.”
The closures come as the UK’s largest high street banks shrink their branch networks to reduce costs and in response to the wider use of digital services. Research published last year by the consultancy Caci showed that current account customers visited a branch 427m times in 2015 compared with 895m logins on a mobile app.
HSBC has seen a 40 per cent drop in branch visits over the past five years. The bank has shut more branches than any of the other big high street lenders since the start of 2015, according to consumer group Which? Royal Bank of Scotland came second, closing 191 over the period.
Francesca McDonagh, head of retail banking and wealth management for UK and Europe at HSBC, said the bank is contacting customers to “help them with alternative ways to bank with us”.
She added: “We will offer customers individual sessions to help explain their options or provide help in setting up telephone, mobile or internet banking.”
HSBC is investing more than $1bn in its digital channels. More than 90 per cent of the bank’s contact with customers is through digital services, up 10 per cent on last year.
Last year, HSBC and its online bank First Direct launched voice recognition and touch security to replace traditional passwords for millions of people in the UK, as part of an industry-wide shift towards biometric banking. It enables customers to use their voice and fingerprint to verify their account as a secure form of ID.
Other banks have introduced similar measures. Barclays unveiled voice recognition in 2015 for its rich clients before expanding this to retail customers using telephone banking last year.
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