Posted by 
Two banks near Preston are to close in the months ahead.
NatWest has confirmed dozens of branch closures are to take place in the first half of 2025.
Garstang and Leyland will both lose their NatWest branches.
Read more: Preston City Council reiterates support for customer-owned bank investment
The Market Place branch in Garstang is to close on 26 June this year.
And the Leyland branch at Golden Hill, Chapel Brow, will close the doors on 15 May.
The bank said it was closing the branches due to the increasing usage of online banking and apps.
A NatWest spokesperson said: “Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online. Like any business, we strive to meet our customers’ changing needs and expectations and we’ve been responding to the industry wide shift towards digital services by investing to broaden what customers can do themselves and to offer them greater personalisation.
“We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we expect to invest in excess of £20m in our network across the UK in 2025 to improve customer service, enhance the look and feel of our branches, and reduce the environmental impact of our buildings, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and Banking Hubs.”
In September 2023 the bank relocated its city centre branch in Fishergate to the other side of the street with a major upgrade to its premises.
Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.
Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines
Read more: See the latest South Ribble news and headlines
Read more: See the latest Wyre news and headlines
