HIGH street bank HSBC is to close one of its Gwent branches in three weeks, blaming "changes in the way customers are choosing to bank with us".

The firm is to push ahead with the closure of its Abergavenny branch, in Frogmore Street, on Tuesday, April 18.

HSBC said most branch customers in the town are registered to use telephone and internet banking, but figures show the percentage of "vulnerable" customers using these technologies is much lower.

Bank accounts registered in Abergavenny will be transferred to the HSBC in Cwmbran, 14 miles away.

That means journey times of around 25 minutes by car, or around 55 minutes by bus, to the other branch.

But the Cwmbran bank is a "digital service branch" which does not offer counter facilities.

HSBC plans to close 114 bank branches this year, including several in South East Wales.

When analysing the impact of the closure, HSBC said there were 23 free-to-use cash machines within 2km of the Abergavenny branch, as well as six stores using the PayPoint service, and also noted its customers could pay in cheques and withdraw money at the Post Office.

HSBC said "changes in the way customers are choosing to bank with us has seen the number of customers using HSBC UK branches fall by a third over the past five years".

In Abergavenny, 95 per cent of its customers are registered for telephone banking, and 60 per cent are registered for mobile and internet banking.

When looking at customers the firm considers "vulnerable", however, take-up of these services is much less.

Just seven per cent of "vulnerable" customers ins Abergavenny are active users of internet banking, and the figures for mobile and telephone banking are six and 15 per cent, respectively.

HSBC has announced vulnerable customers who "do not use alternative banking channels... will be given additional support up to the closure".

There has also been "extensive training to our branch teams in order that they could fully support both personal and business customers with accessing alternative ways to bank".

But HSBC has remained tight-lipped about the future of its staff at the Abergavenny branch.

The company did not respond to the Argus when asked whether staff there had been offered relocation or retraining opportunities.