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HSBC closes branch in Leicestershire town for good

HSBC has closed its branch in Market Harborough, leaving customers to travel six miles if they want to go to the bank. Most major banking companies have been shutting branches at a rate of knots since the Covid-19 pandemic, saying customers simply don’t visit often enough for them to be kept open.

The branch in the Market Place was initially lined up for closure last year as one of 114 HSBC branches nationwide. It is one of five HSBC banks in Leicestershire to be axed, including the premises in Leicester[1], Market Harborough, Oakham and Coalville. The closure means HSBC customers in Market Bosworth will now have to travel more than six miles to reach their next nearest branch in Hinckley[2].

However, Hinckley is a ‘Digital Service’ branch which means it has no counters, does not cover all banking services and staff only provide help to customers to use self-service and digital channels.

The loss of Market Bosworth’s HSBC comes just days after Barclays announced it was closing its branch Market Harborough, which is third bank closure in the town this year[4]. Barclays also confirmed the move was due to the rise of online banking coupled with falling in-person visits.

In a statement, HSBC said: “Changes in the way customers are choosing to bank with us has seen the number of customers using HSBC UK branches fall by a third over the past five years. Nine in ten customers now transact via telephone, internet or smartphone whilst 99 per cent of cash withdrawals are made at an ATM.”

The bank said just 261 customers had visited its Market Bosworth branch in 10 of the last 12 months, with just 35 per cent of the branch’s customers relying on branch-only banking[5]. In contrast, 95 per cent of HSBC customers in Market Bosworth are registered for telephone banking, while another 63 per cent are registered for internet and mobile banking services.

However, HSBC did confirm that 19 per cent of its Market Bosworth customers – identified by the bank as vulnerable customers – did not use any alternative banking channels. They are now being given support and help in the wake of the closure.

Affected customers are being guided to other nearby HSBC branches as well as Hinckley’s, including Coalville’s[6] HSBC ‘Cash Service’ bank on High Street. That branch, which is 7.1 miles away from Market Bosworth, is due to close on Tuesday, July 4, while Nuneaton’s ‘Digital Service’ bank in Queen’s Road, which is unaffected by HSBC’s closures, is 7.4 miles away.

For more finance stories from across Leicestershire and Rutland, sign up to our newsletters here.[7]

References

  1. ^ Leicester (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  2. ^ Hinckley (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  3. ^ Joules planning Market Harborough job cuts five months after Next takeover (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  4. ^ third bank closure in the town this year (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  5. ^ 35 per cent of the branch’s customers relying on branch-only banking (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  6. ^ Coalville’s (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
  7. ^ sign up to our newsletters here. (data.reachplc.com)

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