Wales hit hardest by bank closures
Press Association reporter WALES has lost 43% of its bank branches within the past five years – more than any other part of the UK, according to a new report.
About a third of branches across the UK have shut and hundreds more which remain open have slashed their hours, with some just open for one or two days a week, says the new Which? report.
There were 3,303 bank branch closures, equating to 34% of the network, between January 2015 and August 2019. It leaves 6,549 bank branches in the UK.
The shrinking branch network has been driven by a wave of closures by major high street names.
In January, Santander said it was closing branches in Penarth and Tonypandy. Last year, Lloyds Bank announced the closure of its Cardiff Bay branch and its city centre business branch, while the Cooperative bank shut a branch in Aberdare, which had already seen the closure of its HSBC and NatWest branches.
Porth, Mountain Ash, Treorchy, Tonyrefail, Llantwit Major, Talbot Green, Ferndale, Pontypridd, Nelson and Ystrad Mynach have all been hit by bank closures.
In recent years, Cardiff banks run by the “big four” – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest – have closed in Birchgrove, Cardiff Bay, Canton, Llandaff, Rhiwbina, Churchill Way and Whitchurch.
Which? has called on Chancellor Sajid Javid to act to guarantee people’s ability to access and pay with cash.
Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: “The industry must ensure no-one is left behind by the digital transition and that when banks shut their doors, they don’t shut their customers out of important banking services.”