The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it is forced to close 180 U.K. branches and lay off as many as 1,000 workers, on Thursday, March 23.
The state-owned bank blames an increase in online lending, saying traffic to its branches has dropped by half since 2010.
RBS never recovered from the 2008–2009 financial crisis, when it needed the biggest bailout in banking history.
The bank lost The bank lost $8.8 billion (7 billion pounds) last year.
Other banks are making plans to prepare for Brexit.
Goldman Sachs has decided to focus on serving the EU, and will be moving hundreds of employees out of its London offices.
HSBC has decided to focus on China, dismayed by lower rates and higher regulatory costs in Britain. The British-based multinational plans to add 1,000 employees to its Chinese retail banking and wealth management sectors.
On the other hand German banking giant Deutsche Bank is negotiating a 25-year lease on offices in a new building being built in the heart of London.
