HSBC has announced the closure of 82 branches, which will shut their doors between April and September, including those in Northallerton and Richmond. 

Sites will start shutting their doors permanently from April 23, starting with Edinburgh’s Princes Street branch, with approximately three closing each week until the end of September.

HSBC said the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a greater shift to online banking although insisted the closures were not entirely related to the lockdowns and restrictions introduced.

Richmond, Market Place, and Northallerton, High Street, are amongst the 82 sites facing closure from April to September. Both sites are expected to close in August.

Staff are expected to be redeployed to other branches and sites within 15 miles of their homes, the bank said.

HSBC said the closures are part of plans to become a market-leading digital bank and an overhaul of how remaining branches will operate.

Of the 82 sites closing, 81 are within a mile of a Post Office, two thirds are within five miles of another HSBC branch and nine in 10 are within 10 miles, the bank added.

Bosses said the changes will see four distinct branch formats that “best suit customer needs, based on detailed analysis of customer behaviour”.

These include full-service branches, cash service branches for customers who need greater access to cash, counterless branches with self-services only and pop up branches.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s head of network, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for the changes that we are making.

“It hasn’t pushed us in a different direction but reinforces the things that we were focusing on before and has crystallised our thinking.

“This is a strategic direction that we need to take to have a branch network fit for the future.

“Making sure we have a sustainable branch network is essential to us, and decisions to close branches are not taken lightly.

“By ensuring we have the most suitable branch format in each specific local market that we serve, we will ensure that we are in good shape to meet the challenges ahead.”

She added that stripping out any impact of the pandemic, the number of customers using branches has fallen by a third in the last five years.

Nine in ten of all customer contact the bank over the phone, internet or smartphone and staff talk with more than 100,000 customers a week on social media.

HSBC also has branches in Darlington, Stockton, Newcastle and across County Durham.

Similar moves were announced in the past 12 months by rivals and a recent report by consumer group Which? found banks and building societies closed or scheduled to close 3,770 branches since January 2015.

These are the affected sites and their expected closure dates:

April

Edinburgh, Princes Street

May

Brighton, Ditchling Road

Hull, Merit House

Wednesbury

Sutton Coldfield, Four Oaks

Hull, Holderness Road

Pontyclun, Talbot Green

London, Fleet Street

London, Fenchurch Street

London, Old Broad Street

London, Charing Cross

Sheffield, Darnall

Oxford, Summertown

Leeds, Chapel Allerton

Cardiff, Rumney

Torquay, Strand

Staines

June

Plymouth, Forder House

Belper, King Street

Colchester

London, Whitechapel

London, Marylebone

London, Streatham Hill

Falkirk High Street

Fleet, Fleet Road

Reading, Woodley

Oxford, Headington

Swansea, Gorseinon

Wigston, Leicester Road

Tavistock, Bedford Square

Bristol, Nailsea

Leeds, Cross Gates

Yate, North Walk

July

London, Kingsbury Road

Cleckheaton, Bradford Road

Bexleyheath, Broadway

London, South Woodford

Birmingham, Erdington

Goole, Wesley Square

Congleton, High Street

Formby, Chapel Lane

Gillingham, Kent

Dunstable, West Street

Chorley, Market Street

Pontypridd, Taff Street

Felixstowe, Hamilton Road

Godalming, High Street

Prestatyn, High Street

London, Southgate

Tewkesbury, High Street

Maldon, High Street

Hatfield

Huntingdon, High Street

August

Stockport, Bramhall

London, Russell Square

Richmond, Market Place

Loughton, High Road

Rustington, The Street

Exmouth, Chapel Street

Bournemouth, Winton

Liverpool, University

Cleveleys, Victoria Square

Clevedon, Triangle

Northallerton, High Street

Walton-on-Thames, High Street

London, High Holborn

September

Barry, Holton Road

Aldershot, Wellington Street

Eastcote, Field End Road

London, Edgware Road

Ramsgate, High Street

Manchester, Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Letchworth, Station Place

London, Hackney

Barnet, High Street

Deal, High Street

Cheshunt, Turners Hill

Swadlincote, High Street

Dorking, West Street

Welshpool, Broad Street

London, Surrey Quays

Worksop, Bridge Street