With only one branch currently serving the city from Cathedral Square, customers will be pleased to note that the Peterborough HSBC branch is to remain open.

Other sites - 82 in total - will begin shutting their doors permanently from April 23, with the Huntingdon High Street branch set to close on Friday, July 30.

HSBC said that the pandemic had prompted a greater shift to online banking, although insisted that the closures were not entirely related to the impact of the lockdowns and restrictions introduced. Plans are in place to redeploy staff from branches facing closure to other branches and sites within 15 miles of their homes.

HSBC bosses also said the closures are part of plans to overhaul how remaining branches operate. These changes will see four distinct branch formats that "best suit customer needs, based on detailed analysis of customer behaviour".

These formats will include full service branches, cash service branches for customers who need greater access to cash, counterless branches with self-services only and pop up branches.

Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s head of network, said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for the changes that we are making.

"It hasn’t pushed us in a different direction but reinforces the things that we were focusing on before and has crystallised our thinking.

"This is a strategic direction that we need to take to have a branch network fit for the future.

"Making sure we have a sustainable branch network is essential to us, and decisions to close branches are not taken lightly.

"By ensuring we have the most suitable branch format in each specific local market that we serve, we will ensure that we are in good shape to meet the challenges ahead."