NEARLY 150 banks have closed in Scotland in the last three years, including four in Dumfries and Galloway – with more set to vanish from town centres locally in 2025.
Since an initiative designed to protect access to cash on the high street launched in 2022, more than 1600 banks have closed in the UK, including more than 100 already scheduled to shut this year.
In Scotland, 131 banks closed before New Year’s Day 2025. Another 16 are already due to close this year, and two more are earmarked for closure, but no end date has been set as yet.
Four banks have closed in Dumfries and Galloway since then: Bank of Scotland branches in Lockerbie and Kirkcudbright, the Barclays branch in Dumfries, and Virgin Money in Newton Stewart.
Two more banks are set to close this year – Bank of Scotland branches in High Street, Langholm, and Newton Stewart.
The closure in Newton Stewart will leave the community with no remaining banks. It has been recommended that a banking hub – a shared space to enable customers to see someone from their bank – be set up instead.
It comes as the pace of bank closures shows no sign of slowing down.
This comes after Bank of Scotland ended its mobile banking service in the Stewartry, claiming its use had “fallen significantly”.
Bank bosses insisted that many customers choose to bank online or through mobile apps, adding that Post Offices offer banking services.
