The Hitchin branch of HSBC is currently closed, with questions surrounding its long-term future.

The branch on Hitchin High Street at the corner of Marker Place has been shut from Friday, July 21, with its doors firmly shut until 930am on Friday, August 25.

The bank say the site has been shut 'for improvements', leaving many of its cutting off many of its customers who do not use internet banking.

While the bank has directed Hitchin account holders to use its Stevenage branch in Danestrete or its Luton branch on George Street, the distances may prove prohibitive for many with mobility issues, customers without access to a vehicle, or for those on low incomes lacking the funds to pay for public transport.

Troubled HSBC is shutting 114 of its locations in 2023 - more than a quarter of its network - insisting the decline of in-branch banking has accelerated so much since the pandemic that some branches which are set to close serve fewer than 250 customers a week.

HSBC, which has almost 15 million UK customers, said footfall in the vast majority of closing branches had reduced by at least 50% over the past five years. "People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us," the bank's managing director of UK distribution, Jackie Uhi claimed.

Nearby Letchworth has seen the closure of its HSBC and Barclays branch, effectively learning the town without a bank, prompting North Herts resident Brian Burke to pen a satirical poem deriding greedy bankers.

More than a year after it closed its doors at Station Place, the Letchworth site remains empty and without a tenant.

Early last year, HSBC had more than 590 branches, but the latest round of closures, will take that number down to 327, with fears rising over the long-term viability of the Luton and Hitchin branches.

Bank customer Brian, told Nub News: "I still venture into the branch at Hitchin on a personal basis ass it's nearest to my home Baldock - but don't get me started on bank closures.

"The team there [at the Hitchin branch of HSBC] are always welcoming and helpful but I lament for the present day crop of SMEs who can no longer call on the personal level of banking offered by the likes of [former Hitchin HSBC bank boss David Ward].

"It is now up the line and the computer will decide." 

HSBC more than doubled its profits in the first half of the year, as rising interest rates increased returns for the lender.

The bank reported pre-tax profits of $21.7bn (£17bn) in the first six months of 2023, up from $8.8bn during the same period last year.

HSBC told Nub News: "We have an improvement programme covering dozens of our branches, and we are investing in the Hitchin branch to improve it for our customers and colleagues."

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