Natwest in Harborough is closing this week

Natwest bank on St Mary’s Road is closing on Wednesday (January 11).

The bank says with more people using mobile and internet banking, the number of customers coming to the counter dropped by 64 per cent over three years and it claims it had just six regular customers.

The building has been a bank for more than 100 years and the nearest branches are now in Kettering or Corby. Alternative banking provision for NatWest customers is also available at post offices on Adam and Eve Street, Connaught Road and Logan Street.

There have been a number of bank closures locally with HSBC set to close in Harborough town centre in May and Lloyds announcing it was shutting its branch in Lutterworth too.

HSBC said customer numbers have dropped ‘significantly’ since the pandemic and it was shutting 114 branches across the country as more people bank online.

Local resident John Salter says he in concerned the other local banks will now follow suit and the elderly will be the most affected.

He told the Mail: “The Market Harborough branch of NatWest has closed.

“Whenever a town loses one of its 'big four' banks, it is common for all of the others to close within a few years. HSBC have subsequently announced that their branch will also close. How long will it be before Barclays and Lloyds go the same way?

“As usual, the elderly will suffer the most, as it is the elderly who are the most likely to be uncomfortable with or unable to undertake their banking online.”