ANOTHER high street bank branch in Gwent is set to close down this month despite local opposition to the move.

The HSBC in Pontypool will shut its doors for the last time on Tuesday, June 27.

Like many other branch closures the bank has announced this year, HSBC has blamed the decision on customers' changing habits and the increasing use of technologies like onling banking.

The demise of the branch in Pontypool's Commercial Street follows the recent closure of HSBC services in Abergavenny and Chepstow.

Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds told the Argus locals were opposed to the decision in Pontypool and HSBC should have reconsidered its decision.

The banking firm said its plans to axe many of its high street locations "reflect the long-term changes in the way customers choose to bank with us".

HSBC plans to close down operations at 114 of its UK branches in 2023.

The "difficult decision" to close the Pontypool bank means customers at that branch will now have their accounts moved to Cwmbran, nearly five miles away.

Customers' sort codes and account numbers will not change, and following the closure clients can use "any HSBC UK branch for your day-to-day banking".

HSBC also has an agreement in place with the Post Office for its customers to carry out basic services there, such as paying in cash or cheques, withdrawing money, and checking their balances.

The nearest Post Office to the Pontypool bank is in Osbourne Road, a short walk away.

The bank has blamed the raft of closures this year on "changes in the way customers are choosing to bank with us", adding that the number of people using in-branch services has fallen by one third in the past five years.

It said the majority of its Pontypool customers are registered for telephone banking (93 per cent) or internet and mobile banking (57 per cent).

But the percentage of those customers who are "active" users of those technologies is much lower - at 36 per cent for telephone banking, 29 per cent for mobile, and 24 per cent for internet.

An estimated 41 per cent of all customers at the Pontypool site "rely on branch-only banking and no other methods", HSBC's own research found.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the MP for Torfaen, said : "When I asked constituents what they thought about this, the message was clear: HSBC should think again about this decision.

"Yet, once again, disappointingly, we see another bank branch closure.

"What we need to see from the UK Government is a proper strategy to revitalise our high streets that has been - sadly - lacking for many years."