These two Portsmouth banks are set to close

Lloyds and Halifax, both in London Road in North End, will shut as part of nationwide cuts by Lloyds Banking Group.

Under the changes 41 Lloyds banks and seven Halifax branches will close – leading to around 178 job losses.

Vim Maru, the company’s retail director, said: ‘Like many other businesses, we’ve seen people using our branches less frequently in recent years, and this decline is continuing. Our branches remain a fundamental part of how we serve our customers but we need to ensure the size of our branch network reflects the number of customers wanting to use them.’

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But Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham branded the move a ‘complete betrayal’ of communities and staff. ‘Banks are leaving people behind in the rush to close bank branches and force consumers to go cashless to boost their mega-profits,’ she said. ‘It’s a classic example of putting profits before people.’

The announcement will cut the number of Lloyds Banking Group branches to 1,475, the union added.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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