On almost the very day that Lloyds Banking Group and the other ‘Big Four’ banks were due to meet Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, to discuss how they can create more banking hubs, Lloyds launches a pre-emptive strike by announcing a further 55 branch closures. That takes the total number of branches closed between 2024/2025 to 292. After this exercise there will be just 932 branches left. Large swathes of the country are now without a Lloyds, Halifax, or Bank of Scotland branch.
But it’s only going to get worse.
A number of years ago Lloyds said that if it was starting with a blank sheet of paper, it would only have about 700 branches. Assuming that’s not changed, then we expect a further round of reductions sometime next year.
The new Government said that it would make the ‘Big Four’ banks open 350 banking hubs over the next few years. It’s not enough – it should be at least double that – but it’s a start. 15 new hubs have opened in the last few days. The new hubs should also offer a wider range of services including the ability to print statements. None of these new hubs have printers! We are hoping to have a meeting with Ms Siddiq to explain the importance of driving the changes forward herself rather than relying on the banks. The ‘Big Four’ banks don’t want hubs any more than they want branches, and they will resist the changes at every opportunity, despite what they may say in public.
Relationship Management – What Growth?
The pressure is now ratcheting up for front line branch staff and Relationship Managers.
Members contacting the Union’s Advice Team have reported that line managers are holding 1-to-1 reviews to discuss their individual dashboards. Those members who have not booked enough appointments for Relationship Managers or have not done enough product engagements with customers are being threatened with structured support plans (performance improvement plans in old language). Staff are being told that the ‘expectation’ – not a target mind you – is for 2/3 referrals a week. The clear implication being that not enough referrals are being made to Relationship Managers and Lloyds is panicking.
It’s also now clear that Lloyds seriously underestimated how much work there would be for Relationship Support staff in branches. Those staff have been run ragged over the last few months. Appointment diaries have been booked out weeks/months in advance and customers are being turned away. In some areas of the network, Lloyds have been asking if Relationship Managers would return to branches until the end of November to help out because things are so bad.
But that can only ever be a stop gap. The Bank needs to look at its staffing levels again because it’s clearly not working.
Members whose performance is criticised should contact the Union’s Advice Team on 01234 262868 (choose Option 1).
PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH YOUR LLOYDS & HALIFAX COLLEAGUES