The Co-operative Bank has confirmed it will be closing its Chatham branch due to the current "economic uncertainty" and the shift to online banking.
The bank in Military Road will close its doors for the final time on Wednesday, 25 November. Although it is not known how many jobs are affected by this decision, the bank says it would look to redeploy staff members where possible. The Co-op Bank's chief executive, Andrew Bester, said was he "very sorry" for the closure, which will see 17 other branches nationwide close and 350 jobs lost 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 (January to December 2019) to determine its long-term viability, which 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. The closure of the Co-op Bank joins a growing list of national retailers or service providers who have pulled out of Chatham town centre this year, including Debenhams in January, Buzz Bingo in July and GO Outdoors just earlier this month. Photo: Google Maps
Roberta Dicks
28/8/2020 10:00:22
I sometimes need to speak to someone in the bank in person - how would that be possible?
Phil
29/9/2020 09:10:44
You can’t, and if like me you live in Maidstone, which closed a few years ago. The nearest branch is now either Brighton or Dartford. They wrote and told me my banking experience would remain unchanged. Pathetic. I’m changing banks, I suggest others do the same and I’ve been with them for 20 years plus.
Roben P Mills
28/4/2021 15:10:47
Lack of use supposedly the reason but alwsys a queue when I went. Nearest now Lewisham so the people that decided to close all these branches must be a real genius. :-( Comments are closed.
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