Santander has announced plans to shut 44 branches across the country, putting 291 jobs at risk. The Spanish banking giant attributed the closures to a major reorganisation driven by customers’ growing preference for digital banking services. Now it has released full details of where the branches are which will close and the dates – see list below.

The lender revealed that 96% of all customer transactions are now conducted through digital platforms, reflecting a sharp rise in online banking adoption.

The announcement comes less than 12 months after Santander revealed it would close 95 branches last March, a decision that impacted 750 employees.

Last July, UK chief executive Mike Regnier disclosed that approximately 2,000 positions had been eliminated over the preceding year as part of ongoing restructuring efforts at the bank, whilst hinting that further redundancies were “might well be” likely.

Santander stated that affected branches will be succeeded by “community bankers”, who will work from Santander Local stores or shared banking hubs to preserve a local presence in affected areas.

Following the latest round of closures, the high street bank will maintain 244 full-service branches.

Additionally, it will run 19 counter-free locations, 36 branches with reduced opening hours, six work cafés and 111 Santander Locals.

The bank emphasised its ongoing commitment to its branch network, having invested tens of millions of pounds refurbishing more than 220 sites over the last six years. The bank confirmed that over 30 branches are also scheduled for refurbishment during the next 12 months.

A spokeswoman for Santander explained: “In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches to better support our customers.

“We will continue to invest in both our branch network – comprising of full-service branches, counter-free branches, reduced-hour branches, Santander Locals, and our increasingly popular work cafes – as well as our digital banking services, so we can be there to support our customers however they choose to bank with us.”

The branch closures arrive as Santander approaches completion of its £2.65 billion acquisition of UK banking competitor TSB.

The TSB deal, which will add further branches to the portfolio, is anticipated to finalise during this quarter.

The following branches are set to close:

April 2026.

– Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland – April 28.

– Boston, Lincolnshire – April 28.

– Evesham, Worcestershire – April 28.

– Mold, Clwyd – April 28.

– Ramsgate, Kent – April 28.

– Woking, Surrey – April 28.

– Bangor, County Down – April 29.

– Bridgwater, Somerset – April 29.

– Kirkintilloch, Lanarkshire – April 29.

– Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire – April 29.

– Newbury, Berkshire – April 29.

– Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire – April 29.

– Tonbridge, Kent – April 29.

– Bishop Auckland, County Durham – May 5.

– Gosport, Hampshire – May 5.

– Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire – May 5 – Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire – May 5.

– Pontefract, West Yorkshire – May 5.

– Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire – May 5.

– Glengormley, County Antrim – May 6.

– Leyland, Lancashire – May 6.

– Mansfield, Nottinghamshire – May 6.

– Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan – May 6.

– Northallerton, North Yorkshire – May 6.

– Ringwood, Hampshire – May 6.

– Andover, Hampshire – May 12.

– Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan – May 12.

– Enniskillen, County Fermanagh – May 12.

– Macclesfield, Cheshire – May 12.

– Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire – May 12.

– Cwmbran, Gwent – May 13.

– Golders Green, London – May 13.

– Heswall, Merseyside – May 13.

– Redditch, Worcestershire – May 13.

– Stranraer, Wigtownshire – May 13.

– Newton Abbot, Devon – May 19.

– Stafford, Staffordshire – May 19.

– Banbridge, County Down – May 19.

– Liskeard, Cornwall – May 20.

– Shirley, West Midlands – May 20.

By the end of January 2027.

– Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire.

– Ormskirk, Lancashire.

– Whitehaven, Cumbria.

– Wilmslow, Cheshire.

This week Santander has appointed an executive at its Spanish owner to take the helm of the UK business ahead of its merger with smaller rival TSB.

Mahesh Aditya, who is currently group chief risk officer at Banco Santander, will become chief executive of the UK bank on March 1, replacing outgoing boss Mike Regnier.

Santander – which on Thursday revealed another 44 UK branch closures – announced in October that Mr Regnier planned to step down after four years as it prepares to integrate TSB after agreeing a £2.65 billion deal in July to acquire its smaller UK rival.

The group is expected to complete the TSB takeover later this quarter.

Santander chairman Tom Scholar said Mr Aditya had “wide industry experience and deep knowledge of the Santander Group”.

He said: “He is ideally placed to lead Santander UK through the next phase of our transformation and oversee a successful acquisition and integration of TSB.

“This will be critical to our ambition to be the best bank for customers in the UK.”

Mr Aditya said he was joining Santander UK at an “important time” for the lender.“The acquisition of TSB will both accelerate our transformation and add to the considerable inward investment group has made in the UK since it entered the market in 2004,” he said.

“It will enhance our offer to customers, enable us to grow and become a more competitive business creating genuine value for our investors.”

Mr Aditya has been group chief risk officer at Banco Santander since 2023, having previously spent six years at Santander’s US arm.

Prior to joining Santander, he worked at firms including Citi, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Capital One.

He was appointed to the Santander UK board on October 1.

The announcement of his promotion comes after Santander announced the latest tranche of branch closures earlier this week, putting 291 jobs at risk.

The move will leave it with 244 full branches, although it will take on more branches through the TSB deal.

TSB has around 175 branches across the UK and employs more than 5,000 people.