Lloyds to close another 136 bank branches

Lloyds Banking Group is to shut another 136 branches by March next year, arguing that customers are increasingly using digital channels for their day-to-day banking.

It is the latest in a string of branch closures, with the bank - and its rivals - already working through previously announced closure plans.

The latest announcement will see 61 Lloyds, 61 Halifax and 14 Bank of Scotland branches be closed gradually from May.

It comes the day after a government minister stressed the importance of access to cash for vulnerable people.

Lloyds blamed the decision to shut the branches on customers shifting away from banking in person to using mobile services.

Transactions across these branches fell by an average of 48% over the past five years as customers used its app more for payments, Lloyds said.

The plans will bring the Lloyds brand down to 386 branches, Halifax down to 281 branches and Bank of Scotland to 90 branches once completed.

The bank said all workers at the affected branches will be offered jobs elsewhere in the company.

The consumer group Which? said that banks and building societies have closed 6,266 branches since January 2015, at a rate of around 53 each month.