London (AFP) – Spanish bank Santander announced Wednesday plans to close one fifth of its UK branches, impacting 750 jobs, as the switch to online banking gathers pace. The group said it would close 95 branches, leaving it with 349, some of which would operate at reduced hours and without counter services. Of the 750 positions affected, only about 100 will be redeployed to other roles at the company, a source close to the matter told AFP. The overhaul comes also as the bank’s UK operations have struggled under strong domestic competition.
“As customer behaviour changes, we are ensuring that our branches remain fit for the future,” a spokesperson for Santander UK said in a statement. The bank said it had seen “a rapid movement of customers choosing to do their banking digitally, with a 63-percent increase in digital transactions since 2019”. It added that in-branch transactions had dropped 61 percent in the same period.
As part of the restructuring, Santander plans to contribute to the expansion of local banking hubs and to use “community bankers” who will provide face-to-face support. The hubs are small facilities serving banks that provide services such as depositing cash and cheques in addition to face-to-face conversations with a community banker. They are seen as helping in particular the elderly, people with disabilities, and small businesses — especially in rural areas. The new structure at Santander UK “aims to provide the right balance between digital banking and face-to-face money management and guidance,” the group’s spokesperson added.
Santander, which has a strong presence in Latin America and Europe, posted a record profit for 2024, but its future in the UK has been called into question. The bank has considered exiting the British retail market, including a potential sale to UK rival NatWest, according to the Financial Times. However, Santander’s executive chairman Ana Botin has maintained that its UK operations are not for sale. The UK market, in which the group has operated for more than two decades, represents around nine percent of its revenue.
© 2024 AFP
