Keep our bank branches open

Every community has institutions that bind the people of that community together, such as parks, pubs and post offices. Banks, too, are a central part of towns and cities across the country, but for many in rural communities, they’ve become all but extinct.

In 2014 alone, 243 small and rural bank branches have closed their doors, with about half of those being the last bank in town. In the past 25 years, the number of High Street banks has dropped dramatically, by about 8,000.

There are now 1,200 communities without a single bank, and an additional 900 towns with only one left.

Banks argue they are catering to the increased demand for online banking services, and that in many rural communities, not enough customers come in on a given week.

But tell that to Anne Roxburgh of Old Roan, who faced last year the closure of the last bank in her town. Roxburgh, who banks on behalf of the local Methodist church, highlights the need for a nearby, physical bank.

“The alternative banking methods offered to residents are not relevant to me as I am banking large amounts of cash,” she said. “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,” Roxburgh added. “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.”

Old Roan’s last bank, an RBS branch, was closed last year despite the taxpayer-backed bank promising in June that it would not close branches that were the last in the community.

Post offices are now, more and more, taking on the role of banks in rural communities, but Unite national officer Rob MacGregor argues that post offices cannot adequately meet these communities’ banking needs.

“It’s too little too late and actually the tie up with the post offices is insufficient for rural banking needs because the post office infrastructure is not geared up and is not ready to handle small business transactions and charities,” he said.

The government was equally critical of bank closures in rural communities, with business secretary Vince Cable saying, “Bank branches can often be a lifeline for communities particularly across rural parts of the country, or for vulnerable people where internet banking isn’t always an option.”

Deeply worrying

But shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra), Maria Eagle, went further. She said reports of branch closures in rural Britain were “deeply worrying for thousands of small businesses which now face the prospect of being cut off from essential financial services.

“With the government’s botched rural broadband initiative months behind schedule, many elderly people will find that the disappearance of their local branch leaves them unable to access their own money and many small businesses will be without the vital financial advice they need to innovate and grow,” she added.

Later this month Cable is due to meet with representatives of the UK’s largest banks to begin talks on rural branch closures.

MacGregor argued that banks themselves are to blame for the growing crisis of branch closures.

“Banking is changing; the delivery channels for finance are changing. But there is still a significant part of the population who physically need to go into a local branch to carry out their transactions,” he added.

“And for huge swathes of our country, they’re being denied that in a very aggressive manner by institutions that should know better.”