Lloyds to lose title of UK’s biggest branch network to rival bank
Lloyds is set to lose its title as the UK’s largest bank branch network next month as face-to-face banking regains popularity.
The nationwide building society predicts its chain of 696 branches will soon become the largest in the country and is also planning to hand out a new £100 bonus to its members in June.
It comes after Lloyds Banking Group launched a new tranche of closures across its brands later this month. The group will have 610 branches by March next year following the closure of 95 sites, including branches in Halifax and Bank of Scotland.
Dame Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide’s chief executive, said the “tide is turning”, describing branches of the construction industry as “increasingly popular with customers”.
“So in some ways I’m not surprised that a lot of our competitors are thinking very carefully about strategy,” he said.
“We are seeing and continuing to see great success in our branch network, so perhaps the tide is turning and we will certainly continue to invest in our branches.”
It was stated that the number of people who opened current accounts through Nationwide branches increased by 20 percent last year.
The construction company has pledged to keep its 605 branches and 91 Virgin Money sites across the country open until at least 2030.
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“We have no plans to open new branches immediately but will always keep this under review,” Dame Debbie said.
“One thing we have done is extended opening hours in many of our branches and we are seeing demand for Saturdays and longer hours.
“We’re seeing more and more people really value face-to-face, human communication… especially in areas like fraud, death, and powers of attorney.”
Meanwhile, Nationwide announced its latest “Fairer Share” payout, the fourth since the profit-sharing initiative launched in June, with around 4.4 million members eligible to receive £100.
It was stated that approximately £1.5 billion will be returned to members since the plan starts in 2023, and the payments are aimed to be made every year depending on the financial performance of the group.
It is a nationwide joint venture, meaning it is owned by members rather than shareholders.
The group’s latest financial results revealed lower profits compared to the previous year following the acquisition of Virgin Money.
The construction industry made pre-tax profits of £1.49 billion in the year to the end of March, compared to the £2.3 billion it made last year.
Nationwide said its previous year’s earnings were supported by a one-off gain from the acquisition of Virgin Money, which it has now integrated into the group.
The Virgin Money brand will be phased out and its customers will be able to switch to Nationwide, while the first rebranding at branches is expected to take place in 2028.
