Nottingham Building Society is bucking the digital trend after announcing that later this year it will open seven new branches in market towns across the Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

The new branches will be unveiled in November and Dec ember this year, with many banks choosing to close branches in the wake of a more digital age.

The Nottingham Building Society said that branches can have a future if banks and building societies ‘reinvent’ their role and make them more relevant to the needs of customers today.

The new branches are based in Spalding, Stamford, Huntingdon, Bourne, Thetford, Dereham and Fakenham and are currently operated by the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society

Footfall to its branches has increased by over 10 per cent in recent years, while research from the building society revealed that 75 per cent of people said it is important to have access to face-to-face advice in a branch, and if branches offered more services, 42 per cent of people would visit them more.

David Marlow, chief executive of The Nottingham, said: “Around 26 per cent of the country’s bank branches have closed over the past five years, and as this trend continues our proposition becomes even more appealing and our business gets stronger.

“Branch closures are leading to more people finding it difficult to access face-to-face advice and service when it comes to dealing with key financial issues in their lives. This is particularly true in market towns, where much of our focus is placed.”

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