Foord challenges Barclays CEO to justify local bank closures
Noting that both Lloyds and HSBC have also recently closed or announced upcoming branch closures in the towns, the MP has highlighted that customers will now face a 30-to-40-mile round trip to access full banking services at the next closest branch.
As well as urging the CEO to explain what they’re doing to mitigate the disruption these imminent closures will cause, Mr Foord has also asked what steps the bank is taking to help support the creation of Community Banking Hubs.
These have the potential to offer a key banking lifeline for towns across Devon, including Axminster which has been promised a Hub, but one has yet to materialise.
The MP has also said he will once again write to the Government about these closures, having previously written to the Treasury about the issue of rural bank closures and receiving a very non-committal response.
Commenting Richard Foord MP said:
“The decision by Barclays to close their branches in Honiton and Tiverton is incredibly short sighted and will cause huge disruption to both local people and our high street businesses.
“Given that the Barclays Group CEO recently was boasting about the fact their income has grown by 14% last year, it’s only right that they justify why they’re so drastically scaling back their local presence.
“But this is nothing new. We’ve seen bank after bank shut up shop in our towns for years, leaving many areas with no local bank branch or seeing their only remaining one set to close soon - including Axminster and Sidmouth.
“We need to see the Government step up and offer real leadership on this issue. Community Banking Hubs offer a real chance to maintain banking services in our communities, but at the moment they have stalled, with little progress being made.
“I will continue to fight to protect local banking services and ensure banks fulfil their obligations - not only to their customers, but also to our communities.”
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