‘Banks have an
TWO separate protests were held outside bank branches on Anglesey which are set to close in April despite opposition from the local community.
Campaigners outside the HSBC branches in Amlwch and Menai Bridge on Friday, urged the multi-national bank to reconsider its plan to shut them down.
According to the bank, increased use of online and telephone banking has been a contributing factor, with customers asked to use the bank’s branches in Holyhead, Llangefni and Bangor.
Both Albert Owen MP and Rhun ap Iorwerth AM have held meetings with HSBC bosses urging a rethink, but have conceded that a change of heart is highly unlikely.
During a protest attended by around a dozen people in Amlwch, town council chairman Gareth Winston Roberts said a petition urging the bank to delay the branch closure had been signed by more than 600 people in just three days.
Mair Jones, who runs the Crystyn Aur sandwich shop next door, said the closure would cause great problems for her business.
She said: “A lot of people from surrouding villages come to Amlwch to do their banking, so this will have a negative impact on footfall, there’s no doubt about that.
“Being a business customer, I will be forced now to chance banks to either Barclays or Nat- west, or face travelling to Holyhead or Llangefni.”
Protest organiser Julia Dobson added: “Menai Bridge is a booming town, and it seems such a backward step for HSBC to take this decision now. Banks have a moral obligation to serve communities.”
A HSBC spokesperson said they did not take the decision lightly: “Unfortunately, with an increase in the use of online and telephone banking over the past few years use of the branches have fallen significantly, and we’ve taken the difficult decision to close them on April 8.
“We have been working with customers about their options, which include being able to use the local post office for day-today banking.”