A big name bank is set to close its Maldon branch, claiming Covid has accelerated the shift towards online banking.

HSBC has announced its Maldon branch, in High Street, will be one of the 82 across the UK to close between April and July.

The branch is set to close in July.

HSBC is also closing one of its branches in Colchester in June. 

Staff in branches facing closure are set 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, 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."

The bank said the number of customers using branches had fallen by a third in the last five year.

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.

Here is the full list of HSBC closures 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 Holbor

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