Banking giant Santander is on the brink of buying rival TSB, and our map reveals the two bank towns that could now be most at risk of branch closures.
Analysis of company data shows that there are at least 70 towns and city centres around the UK where both banks currently operate branches less than a mile apart.
In Bolton, Santander and TSB branches are right next door to one another in the town’s main Deansgate shopping area.
Many other town centres currently have a TSB branch just a short walk away from a Santander competitor, raising fears that they may be first in line for closure under the merger.
The £2.65 billion deal, which Santander has agreed to acquire the TSB Banking Group, could eventually see the TSB name disappear from the High Street.
TSB – originally known as Trustee Savings Bank – has served the nation’s banking needs for well over 200 years.
The bank was founded in a village near Dumfries in 1810, but Dumfries is among the locations where the TSB branch is just a minute’s walk away from a Santander outlet.
The deal depends on approval from Sabadell’s shareholders and the UK regulator, but if it does go ahead, Santander says it “intends to integrate TSB in the Santander group”.
That probably means the remaining TSB branches rebranded as Santander. Santander has not yet revealed if there will be any new closures.
However, TSB branches that are most at risk are likely to be in towns with established Santander branches.
Our analysis identified 70 locations where both banks currently compete for customers with Bolton the closest branches. It was only three years ago that TSB opened its branch on Deansgate right next door to the town’s Santander.
Over the border in Scotland, in Kilmarnock, just three other shops and an alleyway separate the TSB from the Santander on King Street.
And in Hamilton Gate, Greenock, branches of TSB and Santander are both contained within the Oak Mall Shopping Centre.
You can use our map to see what the takeover might mean for your high street.
The takeover comes at a time when more banks are closing than ever before.
Since 2022, when a voluntary agreement saw the major banking groups commit to assessing the impact of every closure, almost 2,000 branches have vanished from UK high streets, including branches of TSB and Santander.
Just a few months ago, Santander announced it was closing 95 of its branches from June.
Commenting on what the takeover might mean for UK customers, Mike Regnier, CEO of Santander UK, said: “This is an excellent deal for customers combining two strong and complementary banks, creating one of the most substantial banks in the UK and materially enhancing the competitiveness of the industry.
“At Santander UK we have momentum in our strategy to become the best bank for customers in the UK by investing in technology and service and improving our processes and efficiency.
“This deal accelerates our transformation allowing us to enhance our customer proposition and invest more in innovative products and our digital offering, supported by the human touch service so many appreciate, not least in our new branch formats and enhancements across the country.”