NatWest Latest Bank to Announce Closure of Chiswick Branch
Report states it had only two regular personal customers
The NatWest branch on Chiswick High Road. Picture: Google Streetview
November 22, 2023
Just a few days after the closure of its next door neighbour Lloyds was announced, NatWest is notifying customers to say that its branch in at 314 Chiswick High Road is set to shut.
Both banks will serve their last customer in February of next year with NatWest departing on the 20th the day after Lloyds is closing.
The report into the reasons for the closure claims that the branch was used by just two personal customers on a regular basis in 2022. We have contacted NatWest to confirm the accuracy of this figure and they confirmed that it wasn't an error but didn't provide further details as to how it was calculated.
According to the report the number of counter transactions for personal customers was down by 49% between January 2019 and January 2023. This is less than the 60% fall seen across the bank as a whole during the same period. In 2022, 80% of personal customers using the branch also used online banking or the NatWest mobile app.
The section of NatWest's report claiming it had just two regular personal customers
102 business customers used the branch on a regular basis in 2022.
The bank has written to its customers registered at the branch with a leaflet explaining the changes. It says that there will always be a member of staff available to talk to either by phone, video call or in another branch. The bank is running online classes over Zoom to explain how to use its digital services.
Branch customers are now being advised to use the branch on King Street in Hammersmith which is 2.2 miles away. The report suggests that the cash machine at Lloyds can be used when the ones outside NatWest are removed but that also is to be taken out of service. There will be two free to use cash machines nearby outside WH Smith at 370 Chiswick High Road and Nationwide at 304-306 Chiswick High Road.
It is not clear what will happen at this stage to the war memorial at the branch which commemorates three members of staff, of what was then the London County Westminster & Parr's Bank, who gave their lives in the First World War. They are Leslie S Gander, Henry S Illing and Walter O Russell.
The memorial to staff at the branch who died in the First World War
A NatWest spokesperson said,“As with many industries, most of our customers are shifting to mobile and online banking, because it’s faster and easier for people to manage their financial lives.
“We understand and recognise that digital solutions aren’t right for everyone or every situation, and that when we close branches we have to make sure that no one is left behind.
“We take our responsibility seriously to support the people who face challenges in moving online, so we are investing to provide them with support and alternatives that work for them.”
This month has already seen the Halifax close its doors continuing the trend of banks quitting the area with Barclays shutting its branch in 2022 and Santander the year before.
A Banking Hub was recently opened on Acton High Street which allows customers of six major high street banks including Lloyds and NatWest to do in person transactions, but Halifax is not currently participating.
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