The Co-operative Bank in the Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham has permanently shut its doors to customers.
Blaming the current "economic uncertainty" and the shift to online banking as reasons behind the decision, the bank closed earlier this week on Wednesday, 27 November. Although it is not known how many jobs have been lost, the bank says it would look to redeploy staff members where possible. The Co-op Bank's chief executive, Andrew Bester, said he was "very sorry" for the closure in a bid to reduce costs. "We're not immune to the impact of recent events, with the historically low base rate affecting the income of all banks and a period of prolonged economic uncertainty ahead, which means it's important we reduce costs and have the right-sized operating model in place for the future," he said. "We are responding to the continuing shift of more and more customers choosing to bank online, with lower levels of transactions in branches, a trend which has been increasing for some time, across the banking sector and more broadly." As part of the decision, the Co-op assessed the Chatham branch over a 12-month period between January and December last year to determine its long-term viability. It looked at factors such as the availability of alternative banking facilities and customer footfall. The bank claims that of the customers who used the Chatham branch in the last 12 months, nearly 62% visited the branch in just one or two months during that period. Comments are closed.
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