Cable: Tories ‘gave up’ on bank branch pledge
BANKS have been accused of ignoring a pledge not to close the ‘last bank in town’ after shutting one in 10 branches in just 12 months.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable told The Mail on Sunday that it was vital for communities to have at least one bank branch on their high street – a pledge made by the Government and endorsed by banks in 2015.
That would maintain basic access to financial services in an area from at least one banking chain, a lifeline to old or vulnerable customers. But Cable said new figures indicated the Government was not doing enough to police the code, introduced when he was Business Secretary, as it emerged that closures have reached record numbers.
A definitive survey by The Mail on Sunday, whose Personal Finance section has led the way in highlighting the closures, indicates nearly 900 branches closed this year.
The number of UK bank branches has more than halved in 30 years and major UK lenders now operate around 7,500 outlets – down from an estimated 18,000 in 1989.
Cable said: ‘The Government seems to have given up and washed its hands of the problem. There was a code of conduct, but banks are not taking it seriously and the Government isn’t following up on it.’
Alongside a potential decline in cashpoints he said many communities are being left ‘financially isolated.’ He added: ‘If there are not branches and no cashpoints what on earth are people supposed to do?’
Banks argue they need fewer branches because of the growth of online banking.
Age UK’s Caroline Abrahams told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The effect is to leave some customers – especially older people who are off-line or living in rural areas – stranded and many towns and suburbs without any bank branch at all.’ She added: ‘The increasing reliance on online methods is difficult for many, particularly those who don’t have smartphones or internet access. There is still quite a sizeable proportion of the population, on our assessment four million people, who are not online at all.’
The Royal Bank of Scotland has shut 255 branches in 2017, including 205 belonging to its NatWest subsidiary. Lloyds Banking Group – which owns the Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax brands – has closed 195 branches. HSBC closed 117 and Barclays closed 100.
The number of branches run by the big four banks – RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays – is now down to around 4,700. Smaller banks have also cut back this year, while RBS and Lloyds have already said they will shut 259 and 49 branches respectively in the New Year.
Challenger banks Metro and Handelsbanken have bucked the trend, increasing the number of branches they operate across the UK.