A bank was robbed in Evington Road, in Leicester, this morning.
The branch of Santander was targeted around 9.30am by two raiders.
The men threatened staff with a "bladed" weapon and ordered them to hand over cash, police said.
Police were called to the scene and the branch remained closed this morning.
It is not known how much cash was stolen.
Police stressed no customers or staff were injured in the raid.
A local businessman, who did not want to be named, said: "I got to work at 11am and there were still a lot of police around the area.
"I asked the police what had happened and they said they couldn't tell me at that stage, but you could tell it was something serious."
