Santander to close 40 branches in 2026: is yours on the list?
In 2025, the bank shut 95 branches across the UK
www.which.co.ukHere are the latest Santander branch-closure news highlights from reputable outlets:
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Santander UK announced closures of 44 branches in January 2026, affecting around 291 jobs, as part of continuing shifts toward digital banking and local banking hubs. This follows their earlier plan to close 95 branches in 2025. These closures reduce Santander’s UK branch footprint to about 244 full-service branches. [BBC coverage; Independent, Sky, MoneySavingExpert aggregations corroborate figures and the shift to community banking options] [BBC: 2026-01-29][Independent: 2026-01-29][Sky News: 2026-01-28][MoneySavingExpert: 2026-01-28]
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The bank emphasizes transitioning affected customers to nearby alternatives such as Santander Local hubs and community bankers, while continuing investments in both remaining branches and digital services. Santander notes that around 96% of transactions are now digital. [BBC][Independent][MoneyWeek] [BBC: 2026-01-29][Independent: 2026-01-29][MoneyWeek: 2026-01-28]
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Context from earlier reporting in 2025 indicated a plan to shut 95 UK branches by mid-2025 as part of a broader network overhaul, with implications for staff and local communities. [Invezz article; additional coverage from national outlets in early 2026] [Invezz: 2025-03-18]
Notes and cautions:
- If you’re in Lisbon or Portugal more broadly, this reflects Santander UK (UK operations) and may not impact Portugal-based branches directly. International Santander operations in Portugal have their own recent announcements and schedules separate from the UK closures. [EU/UK banking coverage context]
- If you’d like, I can pull a current, location-specific list of affected UK branches and suggest nearby Santander Local options or banking hubs based on a postal code or city. Also I can summarize the latest official statements from Santander for precise wording.
Sources referenced here include BBC, Independent, Sky News, MoneyWeek, MoneySavingExpert, and Invezz reporting on Santander branch-closure activity [BBC: 2026-01-29][Independent: 2026-01-29][Sky News: 2026-01-28][MoneyWeek: 2026-01-28][MoneySavingExpert: 2026-01-28][Invezz: 2025-03-18]. If you’d like, I can provide direct links to each article.