FOLLOWING the closure of other banks last year, Santander has today announced plans to shut their Pembroke branch later this year.
The closure comes as part of a plan to reshape the branch network, with 140 branches across the UK closing in response to changes in how customers are choosing to carry out their banking.
Santander said they will support customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank that best suit their needs, including individual help to find alternative Santander branches and access digital, telephone and Post Office banking services.
After the branch's closure, the nearest Santander branch will be in Haverfordwest, 13 miles from the current location.
A spokesman for the bank said: “Santander has consulted its trade unions on the proposed changes and will seek to find alternative roles for the 1,270 colleagues affected wherever possible.
“Santander expects to be able to redeploy around a third of those affected and will be closely supporting colleagues over the coming weeks as the consultation process continues.
They added: “In order to deliver a branch network for the future, 100 Santander branches will be refurbished over the next two years through an investment of £55m.
“The refurbishments will include a range of changes with a focus on personal service, convenience and community engagement.
“The number of transactions carried out via Santander branches has fallen by 23per cent over the past three years, while transactions via digital channels have grown by 99per cent over the same period.”
Pembroke’s Santander branch is due to close on Thursday, May 9, 2019.
The move follows the trend set by other banks in the area, with Natwest closing their Pembroke branch in May last year.
RELATED: Natwest axed three Pembrokeshire branches
Commenting on the decision Eluned Morgan AM said: “I am very disappointed to hear that Santander has taken the decision to close their branch in Pembroke and Ammanford.
"Whilst I recognise the way customers interact and manage their finances is changing, the overall impact of bank closures in West Wales means we have an increasingly fragmented banking infrastructure and the impact on our rural towns cannot be underestimated.”
“I will be asking the Welsh Government to look into the impacts of bank closures to our high streets and to the wider community at a time when there is great economic and financial uncertainty.”
Susan Allen, head of retail and business banking, said: "The way our customers are choosing to bank with us has changed dramatically in recent years, with more and more customers using online and mobile channels.
As a result, we have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less visited branches, and those where we have other branches in close proximity.
"We will support customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.
“We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible.
"We continue to believe that branches have a vital role to play and we will be refurbishing 100 of our branches over the next two years.
“We are confident that following these changes we will have the right branch network to serve our customers’ changing needs, and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future.”
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