HSB to close Hertford branch

HSBC have announced the closure of 114 branches, including Hertford's Fore Street on 20th June next year.

The closures represent over a quarter of the bank's branches, with expected job losses of around 1000.

The bank has maintained a presence in Fore Street for over a century, previously as the Midland Bank before it was taken over by HSBC in 1999.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK's managing director of UK distribution, said: "People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning.

"Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.

"The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so we've invested heavily in our 'post-closure' strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking."

The UK's banks and building societies have closed over 5000 branches in the last seven years.

Barclays Bank closed their Hertford branch in February this year. 

The move will leave Hertford with 5 banking operations in the town centre - Lloyds, Natwest, Santander the Nationwide Building Society and Post Office.

Neighbouring Ware has lost all of its banks whilst the Post Office in Martin's in also under threat after Morrison's announced the closure of the branch in January 2023.