HSBC is closing a further 82 branches as the Covid-19 pandemic reinforces its strategy to move customers to digital channels.
The bank said that even without the pandemic effect, 90% of all customer contact is now over the phone, internet or smartphone. It also said more than 100,000 customers a week interact with it on social media.
Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s head of network, said the pandemic has emphasised the need for the changes the bank is already making to its branch network.
“It hasn’t pushed us in a different direction, but reinforces the things that we were focusing on before and has crystallised our thinking,” said Uhi.
It is not just rural branches or those in quiet towns that are being cut – it includes branches on Edinburgh’s Princes Street, which will close in April, and High Holborn, London, which will close in August.
Uhi added: “This is a