Last bank in Roan

Despite local residents and businesses’ efforts the last bank in Old Roan has closed forcing local people to travel two miles to their nearest branch in Aintree Black Bull.

Taxpayer-backed bank RBS had promised its customers it would not close its branches that are ‘last banks in town’ but this June they went back on their word and closed the branch locals rely on along with another 13 last banks in town.

Cllr Peter Gill, Chairman of Aintree Village Parish Council said, “Our nearest branch is now Black Bull. Elderly people with no car have to get two buses, if you have a car it is a very difficult place to park.

“I was in the bank today and gave up after 10 minutes because there was only one person serving and somebody was paying money in from a business. We have a very elderly population in Aintree Village and a great deal of them can’t use the internet, some of them also have mobility problems.

“When the branch was closing we were told we would be able to use the Post Office in a similar way to the bank yet the two schools were turned away when the caretakers turned up to pay the schools takings in. We are told that this will change at the end of September, I have my doubts, and businesses have the same problems.

“Natwest said that they would arrange a training day to show people how to get the most out of the ATM machines; nothing was advertised so I don’t think anybody had the benefit of this.”

RBS’s move had provoked anger amongst local residents. Anne Roxburgh, who banks on behalf of the Old Roan Methodist Church said,

“The alternative banking methods offered to residents are not relevant to me as I am banking large amounts of cash. We don’t use a bank card for security reasons so I need to pay it in over a counter and get a receipt.

“The nearest branch is a 10 minute drive away but parking is very difficult and I sometimes have to walk a fair distance alone and with six or seven hundred pounds on me. It makes me very nervous. The bank also hasn’t taken in to consideration how many people and businesses will now be using the Black Bull branch and queues are often out the door.

“We’re all very angry at the bank. They need to look after the smaller customers as much as the big corporate customers.”

Since 1990 the UK has lost almost half of its High Street bank branches – more than 8,000. Another 2,500 are expected to close by the end of 2018. There are now more than 900 towns with just one bank left, and 1,200 communities have been left with no bank at all.

Charlotte Webster, campaign director of Move Your Money said, “RBS has consistently undermined the interests of its customers and wider society since being bailed out in 2008. Not only has the bank lost the ÂŁ45bn that it was bailed out with, it’s also driven businesses into the ground for its own profit.

“It’s no surprise, then, to see the bank let down its customers once again by upping sticks and leaving town – even where it’s promised not to do so. Banks just can’t be trusted to take customers’ needs into account, even when the only reason it’s still around is because of our support.”

Derek French, director of the Campaign for Community Banking Services said, “The growing movement to shut last branches is one we should fight. My belief is that banks have a social responsibility to the communities they serve which means not abandoning customers. Shoving a cash machine in a local supermarket is not enough. A hole in the wall simply won’t suffice if the bank’s hard-nosed decision is sending local traders to the wall.”

Unite national officer for finance Rob MacGregor said, “RBS, which is 81 per cent owned by the taxpayer, has steadily and stealthily reneged on its commitment to provide banking services to often rural and ill-served communities.

“Unite is not alone in believing that banks, especially those owned by the taxpayer, have a duty to the wider community. We believe that many of the branches that have been closed were making a profit – and their closure is aimed at just increasing profits.

“We call on RBS to reconsider its closure programme and that it understands that it has a moral duty to maintain a presence in towns where it is the only bank.

“This is one way it can rebuild the public’s battered trust in the banking system.”