Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks are to shutter 28 "unsustainable" branches as part of a drive to reshape the retail banking side of the business.

The move is expected to save £5m ($8.2m); at the same time, the bank said that it would open six flagship branches and invest £45m in improved customer service.

Clydesdale and Yorkshire, part of Aussie lender NAB, said frontline jobs would be protected and that managers of closed branches would be offered support.

The bank also said it would create new staff roles at the busiest branches and plough £20m into improved mobile and internet channels in a programme the lender is calling "replace, renew, relocate and reinvest".

David Thorburn, CEO of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, said: "There’s a lot of positive change being driven forward for our customers and there needs to be more as we build a better bank.

"But to deliver what are fundamentally necessary changes, we have to face in to difficult decisions.

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"No branch closure is welcomed by customers or staff, I understand that, which is why we are working to minimise the effects these changes have on them.

"Our resources must now be focused on where they can deliver the best results for customers, moving with them as their demands change."

He added: "A branch network remains at the core of what we do, and we are investing in it, but we must balance that against the investment we need to make in the services customers now expect and are using more – online and mobile banking services that give customers control of their finances when and where they want it most."

Under the flagship branch programme, the Glasgow head office, newly refurbished London Piccadilly branch and four new branches across Aberdeen, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Leeds will become standard bearers for the bank.

Details of which branches will face closure have yet to be announced.

During February, NAB said it was setting aside more funds to cover the cost of customer complaints and growing regulatory challenges in the UK.

NAB UK currently operates 140 and 180 branches under the Clydesdale and Yorkshire brands respectively.

 

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