"Bank branches in Coventry are closing at their fastest rate in a decade"

[dutchman]

And they look set to decline even more as people turn to online banking



Banks in Coventry shut at their fastest rate in a decade before the pandemic - and the closures look set to continue.

The number of bank branches open across Coventry dropped by 14 per cent in the year to March 2020, from around 35 to around 30.

That was the biggest year on year drop seen since figures began in 2010.

Overall, the number of bank branches has fallen from closer to 55 that were operating across the city that year.

The number of building society branches in Coventry has remained at around 25 since 2010.

Since 2010, the number of bank branches in Warwickshire has dropped from around 80 to around 55, while building society branch numbers have stayed stable at around 20.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics are rounded to the nearest five.

The numbers look set to drop further.

Consumer champion Which? collates information on announced bank closures.

According to its research, there were four closures in Coventry and four in Warwickshire in 2020 and early 2021.

These were TSB branches in Walsgrave Road, Coventry, in April 2020, Jubilee Crescent, Coventry, in November 2020, Warwick in September 2020, Leamington Spa in November 2020, Stratford-upon-Avon in May 2021, and Rugby in April 2021, as well as the Barclays branch in Fletchamstead Highway, Coventry, and the Coventry City branch of HSBC in April 2020.

In its Closure Impact Analysis, HSBC said visits by personal customers are 16 per cent higher at its Coventry city branch than a typical branch.

[dutchman]

When HSBC threatened to close a branch in a run-down area of Brooklyn the city council there told them: "Close that one down and we'll shut down every one of your branches in the upmarket areas." HSBC very quickly backed down.

[dutchman]

Barclays Bank branch to shut as only 15 people use it regularly



Barclays Bank has announced plans to shut one of its Warwickshire branches.

The financial giant admits it is not an easy decision to make, but revealed only 15 customers use the Kenilworth branch as their only way of banking on a regular basis.

The Warwick Road branch is set to close on 14 January 2022, but the company say it has no plans to make redundancies as staff at the branch will be offered alternative roles.

Barclays says there has been a decline in visits to branches over recent years with more people swapping to digital services for their banking needs.

A spokesperson said: “The decision to close a branch is never an easy one. However, customers are increasingly using alternatives to branches to do their banking. As a result, we are seeing a sustained fall in branch visits across the UK.

"This ongoing change in behaviour means we are seeing a sustained fall in customer transactions across our network.

"At the Kenilworth branch we can identify that transactions are down by 33% and 85% of our customers at the branch are using alternative ways in which to undertake their banking, including via the telephone, online and mobile app.

"We have also identified that in total 15 regular customers use this branch exclusively for their banking and do not interact with us in other ways.

"We will work with our customers and provide alternative options to ensure they can continue to manage their money and receive financial expertise when required.”

The nearest Barclays branch to Kenilworth after the closure will be The Parade, Leamington.

[dutchman]

Barclays Bank announces another closure as Coventry branch to shut



Barclays has announced plans to close a branch in Coventry.

The announcement comes less than a week after we revealed the financial giant's plan to close the Kenilworth branch.

Both will close early in 2022, with Barclays saying changes to the way people handling their financial matters is changing.

The branch located on Walsgrave Road, Ball Hill, will close on January 5.

“The decision to close a branch is never an easy one. However, customers are increasingly using alternatives to branches to do their banking," a Barclays spokesperson said.

"As a result, we are seeing a sustained fall in branch visits across the UK. This ongoing change in behaviour means we are seeing a sustained fall in customer transactions across our network.

"At the Walsgrave Road branch we can identify that transactions are down by 28% and 91% of our customers at the branch are using alternative ways in which to undertake their banking, including via the telephone, online and mobile app.

"We will work with our customers and provide alternative options to ensure they can continue to manage their money and receive financial expertise when required.”

The bank say there do not intend to make redundancies, with current staff being offered alternative roles in the company. The nearest branch after closure will be the one on High Street in the city centre.

[dutchman]

Another Barclays Bank closure means city centre branch will be only one in Coventry



CoventryLive can reveal yet another Barclays branch is closing in the city - meaning there will now only be one for customers to do their banking in person in Coventry.

The small branch in the University of Warwick's Student Union will close in January 2022, two days after the branch on Ball Hill will close, as we revealed on Tuesday (October 19).

The branch on Foleshill Road closed back in 2019, and the Fletchamstead Highway one shut in April 2020, which now means people looking to deposit money or bank face-to-face will now have to go to the branch on the High Street.

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Barclays is now turning customers away from counters, and forcing them to use machines instead



Banking giant Barclays has now been accused of quietly introducing new rules to restrict what transactions can be carried out at the counter.

One Money Mail reader says she was turned away when trying to pay a bill because it was under £300.

Another was told by a cashier at the Walton-on-Thames branch that head office was monitoring transactions at counters and would ‘rebuke’ staff who did too many. Instead, they had been told to send customers to use self-service machines.

Barclays counters are also running a reduced service and are open only between 9.30am and 2pm or 3.30pm, even if the branch itself does not close until later.

Experts have accused the bank of trying to force customers online, so it has an excuse to close more branches.

Jane Dough, 72, who lives in Weybridge, Surrey, visited her local Barclays branch earlier this month to amend a standing order and make a cash withdrawal.

But after queuing at the counter, Jane, a former executive PA, was ordered to use two self-service machines — one for each task at either side of the room.

Jane refused as an error had been made last time, but the cashier insisted and tried to take her over to the machine.

Jane says: ‘It was like a standing battle. I was told I was in the minority and that most people wanted to use the machines, yet there was a queue of people stretching to the door waiting to be served at the counter.’

The clerk relented, but as Jane left she overheard an elderly lady also being told she must use the machine when she didn’t want to.

Jane adds: ‘I feel it is deeply cruel of Barclays to be harassing customers in this way. Some people may want to use the machines, but those who don’t should not have to. They come to a branch for a face-to- face service, which Barclays should also be providing.’

Eleni Georgiou, 72, had a similar experience when she visited her local Barclays branch in Palmers Green, North London, in September to pay a £221 credit card bill.

The cashier refused and told her any transactions under £300 had to be done using a self-service machine. But when she returned a month later to pay a £900 bill, she was turned away again as staff claimed the counter was only for business customers.

Eleni, a former receptionist who lives in Winchmore Hill in North London, says: ‘What is the point of having employees standing around waiting to direct customers to machines when they could be helping behind the counter?

‘Barclays clearly wants to close the counters and push more people online so it can shut more branches.

‘I ended up having to take several buses to use a different branch.’

Barclays came under fire in September after Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, revealed it had wrongly led customers to believe it was closing its Mitcham branch in London because the lease had expired. In fact, the lease still had three years left to run.

Another reader, Veronica Hall, says that when her Barclays branch in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was refurbished, all but one of the counters was replaced with self-service machines.

Customers who wanted a face-to-face service were directed to branches in Cuffley and Barnet High Street.

The branch is now set to close, which Veronica claims was done without consulting the community.

She says: ‘Neither of the other branches is on the doorstep, with Cuffley really inaccessible by bus, so the elderly are now expected to bank online, use an ATM where they feel vulnerable, get public transport, or be able to drive in order to get their money.

‘This is disrespectful to those who rely on these services, and banks should be ashamed of themselves.’

Barclays admits it is ‘increasingly encouraging’ customers to use self-service machines where possible.

[dutchman]

Coventry city centre branch shuts in latest high street bank closure



It has been announced another high street bank will close a branch in Coventry this week.

The Royal Bank of Scotland on Little Park Street in the city centre will be shut from Thursday (18 November).

A spokesman for the bank says "most" customers do their banking digitally, and the say they will be offering help to those who find moving online difficult.

Alternatively, some banking can be done at the Post Office.

A spokesman for the National Federation of SubPostmasters said: "On 18 November 2021, RBS bank, Coventry branch, 15 Little Park Street, Coventry, CV1 2RN is due to close.

"This will doubtless be disappointing to RBS customers in Coventry. However, alternative banking provision is available to local residents at Post Office branches nearby."

The nearest Post Offices are Coventry Post Office, in West Orchards, Hillfields Post Office on King William Street, and Radford Post Office on Widdrington Road.

"Post Offices are proving vital to retaining people’s and business’s access to cash as the banks continue to desert the high street in order to cut costs and increase their profits."

[rebbonk]

That branch of RBS has been largely automated for quite some time now. Its location was completely inappropriate and inconvenient.