Banks have been shutting branches in less affluent areas, a new report claims, leaving communities without easy access to their funds.
The University of Nottingham study found that banks and building societies closed over 40% of their branches between 1989 and 2012.
But inner city boroughs and manufacturing towns, especially areas of higher unemployment, saw much faster rates of closure, it said.
The British Bankers Association (BBA) defended the closures, saying that the migration of banking services to the internet meant that fewer branches were required.
It added that the rate of closures had fallen since the Millennium.
But several of Britain’s banks have earmarked further closures. The RBS Group is likely to add to the 60 branches it has closed this year, while the Co-operative Bank planned to axe 37 branches this year as part of a full merger with the Britannia brand which it acquired in 2009 (read more).
Santander has closed over 40 branches this year, though it plans to replace these by 2015. Three branches, in South Shields, Northallerton, and Saffron Walden, are scheduled to open within the next month.
The new current account switching system, which launches on 16th September, may influence how banks plan their branch-locating strategy in the medium term. (Find out more about the switching system here.)
Banks are closing branches and concentrating in wealthier areas, the University of Nottingham report claims. HSBC, RBS Group and Santander are among the banks to have closed branches this year.
Branches now "concentrated" in affluent areas
The study said that remaining branches had become concentrated in more affluent areas, including coastal, suburbs and small towns, while branch numbers relative to population in metropolitan areas had drastically reduced.
Dr Shaun French, co-author of the report, commented: "Although the closure of branches has slowed significantly, the alarming difference in the concentration of branches in certain areas appears to have grown.
"Branches in less affluent areas have continued to disappear at an alarming rate. This is causing a highly uneven geography of financial provision across the country and we are seeing less facilities in areas with high levels of unemployment."
Dr French warned that the lack of access to branches could force vulnerable people into the hands of payday lenders, which have been increasing their presence on the high street where banks have disappeared.
"This uneven spread of branches now needs to be addressed by the Government in order to prevent a further divide," he said.
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor
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