Esther McVey has called for changes to banking regulations to ensure banks remain a fixture on local high streets.
For banks to operate in the UK they need a licence but there is no requirement on them to keep branches open – something the Tatton MP Esther wants to change.
She said part of the conditions of the licence should be that there is a high street presence.
Ms McVey said: “Banks are closing at an alarming rate up and down the country. 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 from them, leaving large sections of customers ignored.
“Closures also affect small businesses as many rely on branches to deposit cash.”
The Tatton MP said there are rigorous standards around financial health, governance, risk management, integrity and reliability that organisations have to meet to be given a licence, but it was clear customers seem to have been forgotten.
Ms McVey raised the issue in Parliament during a Westminster Hall debate on high street bank closures and banking hubs.
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 and Handforth no branches remain.
A banking hub (where branches share space) has just been given the go-ahead for Knutsford – a move supported by Ms McVey.
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.
Ms McVey has written to the RGA and FCA setting out her concerns.
