Four Lincolnshire NatWest branches to close

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NatWest has announced four branches in Lincolnshire will close this year.

Branches in Bourne, Horncastle, Sleaford and Newark Road in Lincoln will all close within six months as customers shift more to digital methods, such as mobile or online banking.

Across the country a total of 158 branches will be closed resulting in 470 job cuts.

It is currently unknown how many Lincolnshire jobs are affected.

In 2016, NatWest announced closures, which saw 1,500 jobs lost in the UK across 32 branches.

The bank warned of additional job cuts and closures in February following the announcement that it had an annual loss of £7 billion.

An RBS spokesperson said: “Many more customers are choosing to do their banking using mobile and online services over traditional branch counters.

“We interact with our customers over 20 times more through digital channels than physical ones. We have 4.2 million personal mobile users, up by over two million since 2014.

“As customers change the way they bank with us, we must change the way we serve them.

“The role of the branch is fast moving to a centre for advice, away from basic transactions.

“While the branch will still be a core part of our offering to customers, inevitably some branches will have to close.

“We know that some of our customers prefer to do their everyday banking face to face and we will help them with the alternative ways to bank in their community through our Community Bankers and NatWest or Royal Bank of Scotland TechXperts.”