PORTSWOOD residents have been left outraged by the prospect of the only bank in the area closing.

Loyal customers have been told their Nationwide branch will shut at 2pm on Friday, June 14.

According to the society, which has had a presence in Portswood since 1974, there are not enough customers to make it viable.

It comes not long after Halifax pulled out of Portswood.

Nationwide customer and Portswood resident Nick Pritchard said: “A lot of people are incandescent with rage. I switched to Nationwide last month because I was assured there were no plans to close.

“Their entire approach, luring people in with promises of £100 and placing misleading advertisements everywhere is shabby in the extreme. I would like to think they feel ashamed but I don’t suppose for one moment that they do.”

The Portswood announcement comes just days after Nationwide pledged to keep a branch in every town or city where it currently has a presence for at least two years.

Nationwide, which has around 650 branches, said this will apply until May 2021 whether there are rival banks and building societies situated there or not.

The commitment has come at a time when concerns over people’s access to cash have been heightened by branch and ATM closures.

A spokesperson for Nationwide said: “We know our members value the personal service they offer and that’s why we’re committed to maintaining our branch network. Since 2017, we have upgraded nearly 80 branches and invested around £130m. But that doesn’t mean that we will never close a branch from time to time and this is one of those rare occasions.

“In this area, we currently have six Nationwide branches within a seven-mile radius including our newly refurbished flagship Southampton branch, which is fewer than two miles away, as well as refurbished branches in Eastleigh, Bitterne and Shirley.”