TWO banks in Hampshire are set to close following a shake-up by the Co-operative Bank following its merger with Britannia building society.

Branches in Southampton and Portsmouth city centres will be shut while the Co-operative Bank closes 37 branches nationwide with a rebrand that will see the Britannia name disappear from the high street.

Southampton's Britannia bank at Hanover Buildings will merge with the Co-operative in Above Bar Street.

The Co-operative branch in Portsmouth's Arundel Street will merge with the Britannia bank in Commercial Road which will become a Co-operative.

The changes will lead 34 job losses, largely at a managerial level, while the bulk of the 188 staff employed across affected banks will be relocated to neighbouring branches.