If you’ve got a TSB bank account, you may wish to explore your options in the new year. That’s because the bank has announced another round of branch closures. Little over a year ago, customers could choose from 475 branches: that number is going down to 220 in 2022.
Where are the affected branches?
TSB’s latest plans are to close 70 branches in the new year, 18 of which are planned for April, with 26 in May and a further 26 in June.
Which branches close in April?
Aylesbury, Cambridge, Dundee, Elton, Forfar, Forres, Fort William, Kirkintilloch, Lanark, London Bermondsey, London Greenwich, London Harlesden, Rushden, Stranraer, Taunton, Thurso, Wimborne and Yeovil.
Which branches close in May?
Bishop’s Stortford, Bromley, Bury St Edmunds, Camberley, Colchester, Ealing, Eastbourne, Gateshead, Horsham, London West End, Louth, Maidstone, Manchester Denton, Maryport, Morden, Nelson, Newton Aycliffe, Northallerton, Ossett, Redcar, Retford, Romford, St Helens Sutton, Swaffham, Tunbridge Wells and Uxbridge.
Which branches close in June?
Barnsley, Bath, Birmingham Longbridge, Cleveleys, Cirencester, Exeter, Gillingham, Liverpool Garston, Melton Mowbray, Morecambe, Newbury, Norwich, Nottingham Sherwood, Oxford, Redditch, Ross-On-Wye, Sheffield Woodseats, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Southend-on-Sea, Thornbury, Warrington Frodsham, Weston-super-Mare, Wilmslow, Winsford, Worcester.
Why is the bank doing this?
Essentially, the normal reasons cited by banks: restructuring their branch network; customers using digital platforms and alternative ways of accessing services, including cash machines and Post Offices. However, its own figures suggest that it has up to 2.8 million customers who don’t use online or mobile banking.
It’s also announced the expansion of its Mobile Money Confidence Experts services to 50 pop-up locations, up from 40 currently established. There are very limited services you can access, as these are typically based out of local community centres, so while a pop-up might cover some of your needs, it isn’t a fully banking service.
I don’t see my local branch on the list, does that mean it’s safe?
For now these are the only plans announced, but given we’ve seen closures in 2020, 2021 and now 2022 you’d have to be pretty foolish to think TSB were done. It had 588 branches in 2017 after all, and these changes will leave it with 220.
Who are the best alternatives?
That depends how you look at it. The big 3 players in the UK market are Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest. Between them they’ve got 3,131 branches across the UK. So the chances are relatively good they’d have a branch local to you. They aren’t averse to getting the axe out either, as that number is a big reduction compared to the 4,884 branches they collectively had in 2017. Another way of looking at that is Lloyds, Barclays and NatWest have closed the equivalent of three TSBs in as many years. Unfortunately, the trend is that smaller communities are the usual suspects when it comes to closures.
Most major high street banks have undertaken significant branch closure programmes over the last few years. The exception to the rule is Nationwide Building Society, which has gone from 691 branches in 2017 to 646 branches today. So if recent history is anything to go by, Nationwide has the most stable branch network.
Is there another way to look at it?
If you’re not a frequent visitor to a branch but value the customer service they provide, you might want to take the opportunity to broaden your horizons. In the most recent FCA-mandated independent survey, the best banks for overall service quality were Monzo (83%), First Direct (81%), Starling Bank (81%), Metro Bank (74%) and Nationwide (68%).
For context, TSB were rated a lowly 14th in the survey, coming out with a score of 52%.
Of the top 5, only Metro Bank and Nationwide have a branch network. Metro Bank’s 77 branches are predominantly located in the South East and around major population hubs. So if you were thinking about making the switch, it’s worth keeping in mind.
Looking for more bank switching help? See our article outlining eight questions to ask before opening a current account.
