Nationwide extends promise not to leave towns without a local branch until at least 2026

Company, which is owned by its 16 million customers, says it has invested £46m in keeping its network open

(Alamy)

The UK’s biggest building society has extended a pledge not to leave any town without a local branch for at least three years – a move that will make it the largest branch network in Britain.

With a major shift to online banking in recent years, figures collated by Which? magazine last month suggested that more than 5,000 bank branches have shut down since 2015.

While the huge boom in online retail and services has driven an often desolate transformation of Britain’s high streets, research commissioned by Nationwide found that 77 per cent of more than 2,000 customers value or depend on physical bank branches.

As a result, it has extended an existing promise to leave no town or city it already operates in without a branch, in a move endorsed by the Save the High Street campaign.

The building society, which is owned by its 16 million customers, first made the pledge in 2019 and had previously renewed its commitment until 2024.

With the latest extension to 2026, the promise has now been extended three times. Debbie Crosbie, who became chief executive last June, said last month that just 20 of Nationwide’s roughly 600 branches had been shut down during her tenure.

“Nationwide is different,” she said. “We give customers a choice about how they do their banking and we support the British high street. Because our customers value face to face contact, and we’re owned by them, we act in their interests.”

Over the past three years, the company claims to have invested more than £46m in keeping, rather than closing, its branch network. “Keeping those branches open is very expensive,” she told This Is Money in May. “If it was head over heart, we would shut them.”

Despite not closing branches, however, many have reduced their opening hours. “We are closing some branches a couple of days a week because they are so quiet. It is better to have it there three days a week than not there at all.”

‘If it was head over heart, we would shut them,’ says Debbie Crosbie (Getty Images)

The research conducted by Censuswide found that, of the nearly two thirds of respondents who valued their local branch, 40 per cent cited face-to-face service, while more than a third believed they were beneficial for older people or those with vulnerabilities, and felt it enhanced their local high street.

The top reasons for visiting a branch were found to be: paying in or withdrawing cash (54 per cent); checking balances (30 per cent); financial advice, or opening an account (both 19 per cent); and discussing financial difficulties (12 per cent).

While conceding that only a small proportion of customers are regular visitors, Ms Crosbie said: “It is a broad demographic who like branches. Some people just like going for a chat. As a mutual, I'm delighted we are providing a service that is probably not banking, quite frankly.”

The move comes a month after Nationwide announced it would hand £340m back to customers after raking in record profits. Ms Crosbie said at the time that the building society had temporarily waived interest on overdrafts for 38,000 members to help with the cost of living crisis.

Alex Schlagman, Co-Founder of SaveTheHighStreet.org said: “Nationwide’s renewal of their Branch Promise comes at a good time. These branches add valuable services to local consumers and businesses alike, at a time when so many are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. We would like to see other large brands putting their name to protecting our towns, cities and high streets across the U.K.”