A BRITISH banking firm will close branches in Winchester and Fareham as part of a major restructure.

But the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Southampton branch will stay open, the company has confirmed.

Yesterday, the bank announced it would close 162 branches across England and Wales.

Almost 800 jobs will be lost as a result and staff will be offered voluntary redundancy.

The announcement comes after plans to create a new “challenger bank”, named Williams & Glyn, fell through.

More than 100 branches will close in late July and August, while a further 53 branches will close in November.

An RBS spokesman said: “We are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank, and we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other; NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland.

“As a result, we have had to review our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and we’ve made the difficult decision to close a number of Royal Bank of Scotland branches.

“Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland in England & Wales will be able to use NatWest branches instead for their everyday banking needs.”

Commenting on the closure of Fareham’s branch, leader of Fareham Borough Council, Sean Woodward, said: "I'm sad to see any loss of a bank but I hope it will combine with its sister bank, Natwest, so customers do not lose out."