Santander is to shut 44 of its bank branches in a move putting 291 jobs at risk. It said 96% of all transactions are now being completed in digital channels after a rapid increase in online banking customers. Santander said closing branches will be replaced with “community bankers”, who will operate from Santander Local stores or banking hubs to keep a presence in local communities. It will also operate 19 counter-free branches, 36 reduced-hour branches, six work cafes and 111 Santander Locals. A spokeswoman for Santander said: “In response to a continuing and sizeable shift towards customers using digital banking, we are making changes to our branches to better support our customers.