Santander has announced it will close its Brecon branch this summer.

The branch, located at 18 High Street, will shut its doors at 3pm on June 25, 2025.

It is one of 95 Santander branches set to close across the UK, reducing the bank’s network from 444 to 349. Of the remaining locations, 36 will operate on reduced hours, while 18 will be "counter-free," leaving just 290 full-service branches.

The closures put 750 jobs at risk.

Santander has cited the continued shift towards online banking as the driving force behind the closures.

The bank said its latest review found that 92 per cent of Brecon branch customers use multiple banking methods, with 70 per cent relying on online, mobile, or telephone banking. A further 30 per cent of customers also use another Santander branch.

Following the closure, the nearest Santander branches to Brecon will be in Merthyr Tydfil and Abergavenny, both around 20 miles away.

Santander’s departure follows a series of bank closures in Brecon. Lloyds shut its branch in February this year, while HSBC and Barclays closed in May and August 2023, respectively.

After June, NatWest will be the town’s only remaining bank.

James Evans, MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, described the latest closure as "truly devastating."

“This Santander branch serves a wider geographical area than Brecon and the surrounding areas. With no banking presence in Builth Wells or Hay-on-Wye, residents are travelling many miles to get to their nearest branch and concerns have already been raised about Brecon’s last remaining bank, NatWest,” he said.

Mr Evans added that he would work with LINK, the UK’s cash access and banking hub network, to reassess Brecon’s eligibility for a Banking Hub.

“Ystradgynlais town has recently been successful in its appeal for a Banking Hub, and this must be replicated in more rural towns like Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye,” he said.