SANTANDER is closing its banking services in Nailsea, Clevedon and Portishead to cut costs.

The bank has served notice on 139 shops across the country which provided limited banking services under licence and Santander’s branding.

The services are provided by Mark Richard Insurance in Nailsea High Street, Dingley Brown and Co accountants in Portishead High Street and Newsham and Hanson accountancy firm in Six Ways, Clevedon.

The bank has decided to close the franchises due to the high cost involved in bringing the agencies up to the level of a full service branch, but the move could mean more than 10 people lose their jobs.

Steve Pateman, head of UK banking in Santander said: “Part of enabling customers to choose how they deal with us, is making sure that all of our retail branches offer full banking.

“Consolidating our operations, following today’s announcement, is a vital next step for Santander, allowing us to concentrate on further enhancements and investment in our proprietary branch network, including branch openings and refurbishments.”

Smaller banks and building societies traditionally used third party agents to affordably expand their presence across the country.

The agents usually have a primary business established and also provide basic banking and savings products from the bank under licence.