Hungerford to lose another High Street bank

The news follows the closure on Thursday, May 31, of the High Street’s NatWest branch.

HUNGERFORD is losing another High Street bank branch.

Barclays has announced it will be closing its doors in the town on September 7.

The news follows the closure on Thursday, May 31, of the High Street’s NatWest branch.

A statement released by the banking giant does not contain information about potential job losses.

But it cites a drop in over-the-counter transactions as the main reason for the closure decision.

Specifically, Barclays states that during the past 12 months, 55 per cent of the Hungerford branch’s customers have been using neighbouring branches; only 57 customers use the branch exclusively for their banking and the number of customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 16 per cent since 2012.

However an investigation by one national newspaper revealed that some banks class a customer as being ‘regular’ only if they go into a branch as many as 48 weeks in a year.

High Street banks have increasingly encouraged clients to use online banking ahead of branch closures, thus saving overheads and staff costs.

The closure announcements may reflect falling footfall in the town – although West Berkshire Council no longer publishes an official record of this.

Meanwhile, Hungerford Town Council has arranged a meeting with Barclays and has invited residents’ comments in advance.

Email them to townclerk@hungerford-tc.gov.uk or telephone (01488) 686195.