County is UK's worst for bank branch closures

MORE than 2,000 UK banks have closed in the last four years and more branches have gone from Cornwall’s high streets than anywhere else in the country, figures reveal.

- RICHARD AULT AND JEFF REINES

The Lloyds branch at the Market House in Penzance

(Historic England Archive)

Since February 2022, the closures of 2,209 bank branches across the UK have been rolled out, with banks arguing more people are accessing their accounts and conducting transactions online.

The total number of branches that have shut amounts to an average of around 11 closure announcements per week.

In November alone, 24 banks are scheduled to shut across the country, including 16 Lloyds branches. And by the end of December, 536 banks will have closed in 2025, with another 72 banks already scheduled to shut in 2026, and 49 more due to close at a date yet to be announced.

In Cornwall, 47 banks have either closed or announced plans to shut since February 2022, more than in any other council area of the country.