Lloyds Banking Group is to shut 136 more high street branches as it accelerates plans to cut costs and digitise the bank. It will close 61 Lloyds, 61 Halifax and 14 Bank of Scotland branches between May this year and March 2026 with all workers at the affected branches being offered jobs elsewhere in the company. Among the Northern Ireland bank closures are the Halifax branches in Bangor and Omagh .
The move comes weeks after Lloyds shook up its branch business to allow customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to use stores across any of its brands for in-person banking. The closure plan will bring the Lloyds brand down to 386 branches, Halifax down to 281 branches and Bank of Scotland to 90 branches once completed. READ MORE: Quiz fashion chain could face 'heartbreaking' closure of NI stores READ MORE: Nearly 100 jobs at risk this year at one of NI's biggest employers The closure of the Halifax bank branch in Omagh is planned for May 19 this year.
Sinn Féin MLA Nicola Brogan said it will be a serious blow to the local community. The West Tyrone MLA added: “The closure of this branch would be bad enough news on its own but it comes amid a series of bank, credit union and post office branch closures all over Ireland, particularly rural areas, in the past number of years. While the continued shift towards digital banking may be convenient for many, there remain lots of people for whom the lack of physical branches poses severe difficulty.
“As a member of the Fina.
