Bank of Scotland branches are being closed and the mobile service withdrawn amid another shake-up of the way services are delivered. 

Lloyds Banking Group has said it will shutter four Bank of Scotland sites in different parts of the country, while it will end its mobile branch services in dozens of towns and villages across Scotland next year.

The move is part of a cull of branches across the UK which will see a huge swathe of the group's bricks-and-mortar premises close. 

The bank of Scotland branches which will shut are the Glasgow site in Byres Road, Tarbert's Harbour Street bank, Bowmore's Shore Street outlet and the branch in Helensburgh's Shore Road.

Overall, Lloyds is closing 45 branches across its network, alongwith the Halifax and Bank of Scotland arms amid the ongoing shift away from high street banking.

The group is closing 22 Halifax branches, 19 Lloyds branches in England.

The Herald:

Lloyds stressed that all affected branch staff will be offered other roles at another branch or in a different part of the business, with no compulsory redundancies planned.

The Bank of Scotland mobile service is being withdrawn from dozens of towns and villages, including sites in Aberdeenshire, Angus, Berwickshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Inverness, Moray, Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Sutherland.

The move has been criticised by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who is also MP for Moray, who told the BBC he was "extremely disappointed" by the decision and accused the banks of being "out of touch with the needs of customers".

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He said: "These services are vital for these communities who have already suffered from branch closures in the towns.

"Elderly and vulnerable people in particular continue to want access to banking services in their local area as they simply don't use online banking.

"Connectivity also remains a major issue for many people living in rural and remote parts of Moray."

A Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: "Customers have been using our mobile branches much less over time and some locations now have as little as two customers using the service.

"We'll be introducing more community bankers, alongside the other options customers already have for their banking including the Post Office, online, our mobile apps, phone banking, video services and web chat. All colleagues will continue in roles across our business."

It comes just a week after NatWest Group said it plans to shut another 19 branches, mostly in the early part of next year.

The latest closures take the total number of high street branches shut across the sector to 623 so far this year.

The Herald:

Lloyds is set to close the bulk of the branches in March and April next year, with some also closing in August and a tranche in November.

It means that at least 276 branches will be shut across Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland this year and next.

The closures announced will leave the group with 515 Lloyds Bank branches, 413 Halifax and 133 Bank of Scotland sites.

There has been a massive exodus of branches from the high street in recent years.

The largest number of closures announced this year have been Barclays branches, with the bank saying 185 of its sites are set to shut.

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Lloyds is second with 131, followed by NatWest with 116, Halifax with 94, Virgin Money with 40, Bank of Scotland with 32, Ulster Bank with 10, TSB with nine, Royal Bank of Scotland with five, and one Nationwide branch.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: “The way customers choose to bank with us has changed rapidly in recent years, and we now offer a wide range of options for their everyday banking needs.

“This includes our mobile app, online and over the phone.

“Customers can also bank with us through the Post Office, in a Banking Hub, or by speaking to a Community Banker.”

Dates when Bank of Scotland branches will close: 

Glasgow – Byres Road – March 21
Tarbert – Harbour Street – April 29
Bowmore – Shore Street – May 8
Helensburgh – Shore Road – August 15