Market Harborough’s Last Bank Closes Today

Market Harborough’s last remaining bank closes its doors for the final time today.

Santander will be the fifth bank to pull out of the town since 2023, with the decision blamed on customers choosing to bank on-line instead of in-person.

The bank says only 26 of its personal customers visited the branch three times or more between July and December 2024.

The closure of the High Street branch will leave just Nationwide Building Society and Market Harborough Society open in the town centre, along with a banking hub.

Iain Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive of MHBS, spoke to HFM:

Santander in Market Harborough will close for the final time today

Five members of staff at Santander are affected by the closure and a spokesperson for Santander UK said: “Support will be provided to those impacted colleagues, including assistance in finding redeployment roles within the bank, access to specialist outplacement support, and dedicated wellbeing support.

“Closing a branch is always a very difficult decision and we spend a great deal of time assessing where and when we do this and how to minimise the impact it may have on our customers.

“However, we believe that the introduction of our new Community Bankers and the exciting plans we have for our remaining network of 349 branches and Work Cafés, alongside the rapid and innovative improvements to our award-winning mobile banking app, will provide the right balance of digital banking and human interaction when required.”

The Banking Hub, which provides face-to-face service for customers of different banks, is currently operating from the Symington Building on a temporary basis, ahead of a move to a permanent location, likely to be in St Mary’s Place.