Santander closes almost half of its Spanish branches due to coronavirus - source

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Santander <SAN.MC> has closed slightly less than half of its branches in Spain to adapt to lower attendance from clients as coronavirus spreads, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

Spain has been in lockdown since Saturday in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Additionally, starting on Monday, the bank will keep another quarter of its 3,200 branches only open twice a week, the source said.

Santander has recently said it has implemented measures to protect the health of its employees and customers.

Banks across Europe are hoping that increased use of digital banking will limit the disruption caused by restricted branch services.

(Reporting By Jesús Aguado, Editing by Inti Landauro)