Business correspondent(wp/es):
Lloyds Bank is to close a further 100 branches, which will result in more than 200 job losses, a trade union has said.
The banking group is facing fresh criticism over the closures, with
Unite saying the “continuous stream” of branch closures appears to show no sign of ending.
Some 54
Lloyds, 22 Halifax and 24 Bank of Scotland branches will be affected, the union said.
And according to Unite, 200 members of staff across the UK have now been they no longer have jobs and their branch will be shutting.
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said the loss of more banks will be “painful” for high streets.
He added: "Unite is angered that another 200 staff have today been told that their job will be cut due to their branch shutting.
"Lloyds Banking Group's rationale for branch closures is the claimed customer preference towards the use of technology across banking.
"However this simply doesn't ring true when it's clear that many customers still value the face to face engagement with experienced and knowledgeable bank staff.
"The industry must halt these endless branch closure programs and open their eyes to what these closures are doing to rural communities, their disabled customers and the small business customers who depend on access to a local branch."
A Lloyds spokesman said the group's retail division was cutting 325 jobs as part of previously announced reductions under a management restructuring, while 96 new roles will be created.
The 100 branches will close between July and October, part of some 200 closures announced last summer.
"These branch closures - previously announced in July 2016 - are in response to changing customer behaviour, and the reduced number of transactions being made in branches," said the spokesman.
"Our branches will continue to play a vital role in our multi-channel approach to meeting the full range of customer needs, and we expect to continue to have the biggest branch network in the UK.
"As we continue to make investment in our network, we will further expand the mobile branch fleet across Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank, with the addition of nine new mobile branches. This will provide continuity of services in some of those areas affected by branch closures, alongside other ways to access banking locally."
Lloyds said all those affected were briefed on their positions on Wednesday morning, and that unions were consulted in advance.
The banking group's spokesman added: "The group's policy is always to use natural turnover and to redeploy employees wherever possible. Where it is necessary for employees to leave the company, wherever possible, this is achieved through offering voluntary redundancy. Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort."
