Major banks have announced plans to shut two more branches as closures continue across the county.
Halifax in Gillingham High Street and Lloyds Bank in Cranbrook High Street have been included in a list of sites set to close by summer 2025.
It comes as owners Lloyds Banking Group ditches another 60 branches nationally – just months after it announced it would cull 45 of its sites in the first half of the year.
It says the use of the 60 branches had fallen by an average of 52% to 68% over the last five years, whilst adding 19 million customers now use its banking apps.
Both the Gillingham Halifax and Cranbrook Lloyds have been given a final trading date of February 11, 2025.
mpu1
In Cranbrook, the move leaves Nationwide as the only traditional banker in the town – although the Post Office will remain available for residents to use.
Lloyds also says it is committed to offering a community banker service, which will offer banking services and account support, though the location of this is as yet unknown.
The nearest Lloyds to Cranbrook will now be more than 13 miles away in Tunbridge Wells, with the Maidstone branch a similar distance.
For Gillingham branch users, the nearest Halifax is less than two miles away in Chatham.
However, Medway as a whole has seen its services massively hit with Strood losing both Natwest and Lloyds within days of each other in April and Natwest in Rainham is set to close next month.
Staff at the affected branches will be offered roles elsewhere within the company, it is understood.
Across Britain, 28 Lloyds Bank branches, 17 Halifax locations will shutter and 15 Bank of Scotland sites will go between October and June 2025.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
