Last week I attended the re-opening of Nationwide in Knutsford which has just undergone a refurbishment and is now fully re-opened following a short closure.
It makes a pleasant surprise for a bank to have a commitment to the high street and it is most welcomed.
Since 2018 Knutsford's branches of Santander, Barclays, RBS, NatWest, Lloyds Bank, and HSBC have closed leaving Nationwide as the town's last remaining bank. In Wilmslow, RBS and TSB have closed, with Halifax and NatWest closing later this year, leaving just Nationwide and Santander. In Alderley Edge, Handforth and Lymm no branches remain.
This is simply not good enough and while I welcome the recent go-ahead for a banking hub (where branches share the space) for Knutsford, I want more provision for my constituents and local businesses.
These are not struggling businesses that need to close – it is pure greed and bank bosses should be ashamed of themselves.
Last year HSBC reported profits of £25 billion, Barclays £6.4bn, Lloyds £4.5bn and NatWest £4.8bn.
For banks to operate in the UK they need a licence but there is no requirement on them to keep branches open. There are rigorous standards around financial health, governance, risk management, integrity, and reliability that organisations must meet to be given a licence, but it is clear customers seem to have been forgotten.
I would like to see a condition of having a licence to include a high street presence.
Most people I speak to want to be able to access their bank in their local high street or at the very least have a branch within a short travelling distance, but for many this is not a reality.
Not everyone chooses to do online banking; some may not be able to access the internet, some may not be able to manage money this way or some may simply prefer to go into a physical branch. Whatever the reason, people have a right to bank how they choose. But too often that right is taken away, leaving large sections of customers ignored.
Closures also affect small businesses as many rely on branches to deposit cash.
I have secured a Parliamentary debate on banking and among other things, will be addressing the licencing issue which I believe will end the surge of closures.
Banking licences are issued by the Prudential Regulation Authority (part of the Bank of England) and the Financial Conductor Authority and are independent of Government. I have therefore also written to both organisations and I hope they will re-think how licences are issued, and put the needs of customers at the heart of decision making processes.
