Counting the personal cost: when axing bank branches doesn’t add up
As thousands are taken off the high street, fears grow for the vulnerable left without access to services
Once, high streets offered a choice of three or four banks. Now, 50 branches are closing every month, making what was a reliable cornerstone of every town, a rarer and rarer fixture.
Earlier this year the financial regulator called on banks to reconsider closures, amid fears that vulnerable people could be left without access to services.



