Bank of Scotland confirm its Bearsden branch is set to close later this summer as banking groups announce culls

The Bearsden branch of Bank of Scotland will close in late July

It comes as two of the country’s biggest banking giants announced the closure of over 60 high street banks and building societies.

The separate moves from Barclays and Lloyds Banking groups affects dozens of communities across the UK, with around 20 affected in Scotland.

Lloyds said that across its brands, more than 20m customers regularly use online banking, and that visits to the 53 branches it is shutting have dropped by an average of 55 per cent in the last half-decade.

The worst hit branch slated for closure has seen footfall drop by 73 per cent.

When closing a branch, BoS say they complete a “detailed impact analysis” that looks at how customers banking, how often customers use branches, and how that usage is changing.

Analysis over the closure of the Bearsden branch – which is due to shut its doors on July 25 – includes a review of trends in the year to October 2022 and the four previous years

That showed 68 per cent of the people using the branch use other types of banking also; 87 per cent used other branches, Internet banking and telephone banking; and that 26 per cent of the personal customers have also used the Post Office for their needs.

Just 47 customers used the branch regularly in a 12 month period.

Over the past five years, BoS say branch transactions are doing 76 per cent with personal customers and 90 per cent for business customers.

Cash machine usage is down 11 per cent for personal customers in that same period, however, such transactions have actually risen (eight per cent) amongst business customers.

A statement about closures from Lloyds (who own BoS) read: “Our customers are increasingly using digital channels to manage their money, we now have over 20m customers choosing to bank online. All colleagues at these branches will be offered a role at another branch or elsewhere in our business.”

The Bearsden branch, based on Roman Road, is currently open 9am till 3pm five days a week.