Banking giant HSBC is set to shut more than 25 per cent of its banks across the UK, but the Hitchin branch has avoided the axe - for now.

The beleaguered company announced it will be willing the axe on 114 of its branches around the county - but HSBC on the corner of Hitchin High Street and Market Place will continue to operate.

The closures will commence in the spring - leaving many residents and communities without a walk-in branch. Despite many customers using online banking, there are still large numbers of people who cannot - or will not - use the digital services for a number of reasons, including fears over fraud and lack of connectivity.

The ailing bank which has been attempting to put its Asian operations on a sure footing by cutting parts of its UK operation has been slammed by many disgusted banking customers.

One such customer was Brian Burke, who told Nub News recently following the closure of Barclays in Letchworth: "Let's just face it: these mega billion organisations have no time for us, the little folk.

"They want to get rid of premises and staff but all the while wasting far more on their advertising budgets. In the meantime they hope their buildings will become Wetherspoons."

The bank claims customers visiting its branches have fallen significantly since the pandemic - and that it would try to redeploy affected staff but that about 100 would lose their jobs. 

HSBC said it will invest tens of millions updating and improving its remaining 327 UK branches - which could potentially include Hitchin's branch.

Jackie Uhi, its managing director of UK distribution, said: "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 decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly."