'Huge disappointment for Newport' as Lloyds Bank branch set to close
Lloyds Bank is to close its Newport branch this year, which has been dubbed a "huge disappointment" by a local councillor.
It comes amid Lloyds Banking Group announcing the closure of 40 branches of Lloyds and Halifax across England and Wales.
Eighteen Halifax sites and 22 Lloyds branches will close between April and June, including Newport's High Street branch which is set to close on June 13.
Newport councillor Peter Scott has lamented the decision and the impact it will have on the people of the Shropshire town.
He said: "It's a huge disappointment for Newport - for the people who use it and the staff who work there. I certainly hope no jobs are lost, but of course quite a lot of branches are closing .
"It's going to have a big impact for many people because they rely on retail branches. We have already lost other branches in the town such as Barclays, so now we're down to two.
"Someone's already spoken to me after recently switching to Lloyds because they wanted a retail branch and now they will lose it.
"We'll also lose the ATM, as it's their policy not to keep an ATM open if the branch closes. We still have some in town, but it's another loss."
Councillor Scott himself used to work in retail banking, and explained: "In the world of retail banking, this isn't unexpected. Staff were always encouraged to put people on online and telephone banking - and this is the result.
"Banks rarely make profit out of retail banking, so they really don't want those retail branches, even though the public do depend on them.
"People use them to pay in and withdraw their money, but the banks aren't making profit in it, and banking is all about profit.
"I understand why they close them, but they don't really consider the impact on the little people so to speak."
