Trade union BTU opines that the move will lead to more closures and redundancies. Credit: William Barton /Shutterstock.

UK’s Lloyds Banking Group is enabling customers of Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland to access services across any of the three brands’ branches, as it looks to streamline operations amid cost-cutting efforts.

The group’s decision is seen as a step to optimise customer experience as more customers switch to online banking.

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In an email to staff, Lloyds consumer relationships CEO Jayne Opperman said: “We know more people are choosing mobile over any other way to bank, but we also need to evolve how we support customers in other channels.

“That’s why – from later this year – we’ll make it possible for customers to use any of our Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland branches, regardless of brand they bank with giving them access to the biggest combined branch network.”

As part of the group’s ongoing business overhaul that started in February 2022, Lloyds has already closed a significant number of branches and reduced its workforce, highlighted BBC.

At present, Lloyds has about 932 branches.

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This count will reduce to 892 branches, comprising 341 Halifax, 447 Lloyds, and 104 Bank of Scotland sites, by the end of 2025 after planned closures.

However, independent trade union for Lloyds employees, BTU, has expressed concern over the new strategy.  

BTU opined that the “co-serving of customers is not about engagement or choice, it’s about making it easier for Lloyds to close more branches and save more money.”

The union further outlined that a presentation they viewed indicates that a quarter of the group’s branch network overlaps geographically. This could result in further consolidation and closures of high-street branches, translating into more redundancies.