Another bank closes on Chislehurst High Street. Santander shut down on 12th October 2017. The high street has only been left with one bank, after HSBC closed in April 2016 and Natwest shutting in June 2017.
There has been a huge rise in banks closing in the last two years, with 1046 branches closed across the country. It will leave Britain with approximately 8000 branches, compared to 1989 where there were 17,831 branches.
The MP of Bromley and Chislehurst, Bob Neill, says after his visit to Barclays in Bromley they have “no intention to making any changes to its Chislehurst branch in the immediate future.”
One reason banks continue to shut is that the number of people going to banks is reducing as they have switched to mobile banking, as it is quicker and easier. Many people are angry about this, especially the elderly as they don’t know how to use online banking. People using mobile banking results in the consequence of banks shutting down.
About 1500 communities have been left without a bank on their local high street, a big problem with banks closing is that when you want to deposit money into the bank you would have to travel further to do it. Another consequence of banks closing is a big loss of jobs, for every bank closed there are jobs lost by many people. This problem hasn’t been mentioned much in the news, meaning that people don’t know why or when their bank is closing. This affects everyone including local people.
Misha Patel
Farringtons School
