BELEAGUERED banking group the Co-operative Bank has confirmed it will shut its Pontypool branch as part of a wave of closures seeking to improve its finances after reporting a £75m pre-tax loss.

The group said it would close its premises in Commercial Street on November 18, putting up to five jobs at risk.

The Co-operative Bank said its statutory loss before tax was £75.8m between January and June this year, compared to a £844.6m loss for the first half of 2013.

The banking group added it had shut 46 branches between January and June this year and expects to close another 25 by the end of 2014.

Co-operative customers will be able to access banking services at the branch in Gwent Square, Cwmbran.

Pontypool Community Council chairwoman Gaynor James said: "I am gutted. That's another empty premises in the town when we are trying hard to buck the trend.

"People will bypass Pontypool and go to Cwmbran and not spend money in Pontypool.

"As a customer I'm absolutely gutted. The staff are always nice in there. They have excellent services."

The Co-operative Bank said staff numbers had been slashed by around a fifth and now stood at 5,860, adding it had lost more than 28,000 bank accounts.

Co-operative Bank head of the branch network Paul Denton said: “This decision has not been taken lightly and has been subject to careful analysis where we have sought to keep the impact upon customers to a minimum.

“Our customers are our main priority and throughout this change, we will ensure they continue to receive the high levels of service that they expect from us.

“We are making this change in support of our business plan to return the bank to a position of strength, and in response to the increasing customer demand for digital enhancements in the UK retail banking market.

“As we re-focus our business we will be investing in self-service and digital channels to provide our customers with new ways to service their accounts.”