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Vishwanath, there are unfortunately banks with ageing mainframe systems that fail such as RBS here in the UK. For them it is very much when rather than why.

I don't think FPS provides direct debits and that makes up 90% of the BACS payments?

Hah ha he will no doubt comment soon Brett, good article thanks.

You have more resilience than me Keith I managed a few slides before giving up. This is a depressing insight into why RBS are in so much trouble, a list of meaningless tasks completed instead of insight into the problems and steps being taken to fix them.

Ketharaman, there are plenty of examples of public companies being taken private again by VC firms, one example being Boots UK the first FTSE 100 company to be bought out by a private equity firm. And indeed the company I work for has passed from public to private ownership. I agree with what you say there are some banks that are innovating and that seems to be happening particularly in India and Australia/NZ and Eastern Europe. 

Personally I only ever visit a branch to deposit cheques which some people insist on using and then only because my bank does not yet accept cheque deposits via mobile phone. Once that happens its likely I will never darken their doors again. And whenever I do go I am accosted by desperate bored staff trying to persuade me to arrange a "review" which is just a chance for them to sell me dodgy products I don't need.

As to the branch being a center of excellence, the staff at two different high street banks were unable to help with relatively simple queries when my wife visited their main branches in Oxford. If there were highly trained people there that could provide expert assistance then there would be a purpose for branches, but otherwise? 

Why do people still visit bank branches, what kind of transactions are still carried out in branches?

González takes a radically different view to Botín on the future, based on what has happened elsewhere what are the chances of digital not causing massive disruption to Banks?

Look forward to being able to leave my wallet at home, never seem to have the right loyalty card to get the relevant discount or accumulate points.

And how about electronic receipts and vouchers stored directly on the mobile device, no more paper receipts. This is something that already happens with online shopping, no need for paper invoice as proof of purchase is right there in your email inbox.

Not sure I would classify HSBC as a UK bank, it is a London/Hong Kong/New York bank ?

It depends on the rate of return that the 18.7B USD profit represents for the capital of HSBC. They are paying a dividend and the return on equity is around 7%, given the record rises in the stockmarkets in which HSBC is listed over the past few years this may or may not delight their investors.

JP Morgan in the US has just announced it is closing 300 branches in the US over the next two years due to customers using mobile banking. They are moving staff from being tellers to advisors which agrees with what we have been discussing in these comments. They do say cost per deposit has been reduced by 50% as customers move away from using tellers towards ATMs and mobile deposits.

Just to clarify I'm not defending branch networks, I think there is a place for an Apple Store type boutique branch that acts as a marketing/sales/expert advice center. Somewhere where I can go and get advice and learn about the products on offer from the bank which I then originate via digital channels. This is something banks are attempting to create in various countries, with mixed levels of success it has to be said.

I would not use the FDIC survey to try and predict the future, the fact that contraction of the US branch networks appears to be slower than elsewhere may be partly because the US is lagging behind when it comes to reducing the use of cheques and cash. They may leapfrog the current technology (EMV and contacless cards) and move directly to mobile/digital payments, and possibly close a whole raft of branches when they do move across.