By Sabela Ojea

Lloyds Banking Group PLC said Wednesday that it is closing a further 44 branches in England and Wales amid its push into digitalization.

The U.K. lender said 29 Lloyds Bank and 15 Halifax sites will be affected by the decision, taking the number of branches closed this year to 100.

The bank shut 56 sites in March and April. The new closures will take place between September and November, it said.

"Across all of the group's branches, transactions have fallen 10% per annum in the five years to March 2020, and significantly further in the year since," said Vim Maru, retail director for Lloyds.

Shares at 1500 GMT were up 0.43 pence, or 0.9%, at 47.20 pence.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-23-21 1123ET