Last bank standing in North Cardiff

Last week's announcement (10 June) by NatWest Bank to close a further 55 branches across the UK includes the last bank operating in the whole of North Cardiff.

The Llanishen branch is due to shut on 11 September 2025.

This is just the latest in the banking group’s significant closure programme which has seen more than 1,455 branches shut since 2015. On its website NatWest states “Banking has changed dramatically in recent years, with an increased demand for mobile and online services, as our customers benefit from a faster and easier way to bank”. Data supporting the bank’s decision to close Llanishen shows 249 personal customers and 140 business customers used the branch on average each month.

The website provides information about the branch closures and the other ways customers can bank Branch Closures | NatWest.  However, the majority of these options are on-line rather than in-person services, unless customers are able to travel to the nearest remaining branches in Caerphilly or Cardiff city centre.

Recent research findings Banking on Banks 2025: A Decade of Transformation in Financial Services perhaps unsurprisingly highlight the gap in the perceived impact of branch closures between those working in the banking industry and those using these services.

• A quarter (27%) of senior banking professionals say the reduction in high street bank branches is not a major challenge for their company.

• By contrast, six in ten (60%) consumers say that closures have made it harder to speak to a real person when they need support.

• Similarly, a fifth (21%) of Brits are now worried about the impact that ongoing bank branch closures will have over the next five years.

  
  

Cardiff North Senedd Member Julie Morgan, MP Anna McMorrin and local councillors have issued a statement on their “devastation” at the closure.  They recognise regular users of the bank will be affected and are “seeking an urgent meeting with the bank’s senior representatives to put forward a case for why it should not close.”  They have urged anyone impacted by this news to get in touch with them.

Earlier this year, Lloyds Bank announced the closure of its Whitchurch branch - the last remaining bank in Whitchurch or Rhiwbina.