Bank signBank branch closures are an emotive subject. And promising not to close branches – or at least, appearing to give that promise – has landed two of the nation's biggest banking names in hot water.

Last week the Advertising Standards Authority banned two television ads from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest. In them, the banks claimed that they provide banking services wherever and whenever they are the "last bank in town".

However, the ads attracted complaints for being misleading since there is at least one area (Farley in Yorkshire) where NatWest closed a branch despite being – you guessed it – the last bank in the town.

RBS mounted the defence that its claim to provide "banking services" did not necessarily mean keeping the branches open, but that was dismissed.

It's just the latest sad chapter in the disappearance of many high street bank branches up and down the UK.

Disappearing branches

A report last year from the Campaign for Community Banking Services (CCBS) demonstrated just how banks and building societies are no longer the reliable presence on the high street they once were.

Since 1990, the number of branches has fallen by 7,555 - that's almost 50%! And while things have slowed somewhat over the past decade, there were still 1,889 closures.

In 2010 alone there were 180 closures, while 2011 saw a similar number disappear.

How we compare

According to the research by the CCBS, the UK now boasts about 160 bank branches per million inhabitants. This jumps to 190 when you include building societies. Here's how that number compares with our continental cousins:

Nation

Branches per million inhabitants

Spain

940

Italy

560

Germany

470

France

420
That strikes me as a pretty staggering difference. Spain boasts five times more branches per million inhabitants than the UK!

Deserting whole communities

It's not just about how many branches we have as a nation – it's exactly where those branches are located that matters. And more CCBS data suggests a number of communities are at risk of losing their branches altogether.

There are 414 rural communities where only one bank remains, and 466 urban communities in the same boat. Some of these branches are now 'protected' as a result of pledges by the respective banks to maintain that branch presence. That said, there's no guarantee how long those pledges will remain in place.

Here's the breakdown of where you will find the sole bank communities:

Region

Rural sole bank communities

Urban sole bank communities

Total

North East

14

24

38

North West

31

52

83

Yorkshire & Humberside

19

45

64

Merseyside

2

23

25

East Midlands

28

19

47

West Midlands

15

41

56

East of England

34

44

78

Greater London

-

55

55

South East

51

50

101

South West

42

37

79

Wales

34

12

46

Scotland

144

64

208
As you can see, Scotland is particularly exposed.

It's only going to get worse

The CCBS believes we are likely to see even fewer branches on the high street in the next few years. It believes that the number of branches in Britain will fall from 9,550 today to 8,000 by 2018. That's the equivalent of five branch closures a week.

As a result, both the CCBS and the Forum of Private Business are lobbying the Government to pressure big banks into sharing premises in order to stem the tide of the biggest banking brands, that many people rely on, vanishing altogether.

Some rare good news

However, not all banks and building societies are cutting back their presence on the high street. Yorkshire Building Society has announced it plans to open 12 new branches over the next two years.

The mutual has made big strides already in growing its branch network thanks to its mergers with Norwich & Peterborough Building Society and Chelsea Building Society, which has resulted in its number of branches rocketing from 135 to 224 over the last three years.

And Lloyds has made clear its intentions to maintain its branch network (for now anyway) with the pledge not to close any more branches over the next three years.

Do we even need bank branches?

All this raises the question of exactly what purpose the bank branch fulfils in 2012. With so many people doing their banking online now, is there even a need for branches to exist?

From my own point of view, the only times I go to the bank are when I need to pay in a cheque. That's no more than a handful of times a year, and with cheques in their death throes, I won't even have to do that too much longer.

What do you think? Is it inevitable that more branches will disappear? And is that automatically a bad thing? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.