MP urges customers to consider shifting bank ahead of NatWest closure in Tiverton

Tiverton & Honiton MP Richard Foord has urged customers banking with NatWest to consider transferring their accounts after the bank announced their final remaining branch in Tiverton is set to close within the next year.

This latest closure is a huge blow for local people, who have seen several banks shut up shop and retreat from their high streets in recent years, including HSBC in 2020 and Halifax last year. The most recent closure was Barclays, in June.

Other banks have also come under pressure for closing branches, despite increasing profits, with Nationwide Building Society pledging to maintain its current branches, including the one in Tiverton, until 2026.

Despite the promise of Community Banking Hubs, which would offer collective banking services where branches are scarce, there has been little progress in delivering on the pilot at 25 sites across the country.

In response to the news, Devon’s Lib Dem MP Richard Foord has urged customers to ‘vote with their feet’ and consider shifting their accounts to other banks and building societies that still maintain a presence in the town.

Commenting, Richard Foord said:
“The news that yet another bank is abandoning our high street is a huge blow for local people. Banks are such an important part of our communities and yet they’re melting away before our eyes.

“It’s shocking that so many people are now left facing a thirty-to-forty-mile round trip simply to access basic banking facilities. Mobile banking sites are of course welcome, but they are a stop-gap measure that simply cannot replicate the full range of in-branch services.

“The inaction from this Conservative Government is galling. They seem content to sit back while our communities are hollowed-out and key services are sacrificed, while banks continue to rake in billions in profits.

“Given the lack of leadership from Government, it’s time for us to band together and take action. We must send a clear message that banks not only have a duty to their shareholders, but to our communities too.

“I urge everyone with a NatWest account living in and around Tiverton to vote with their feet by shifting their account to banks or building societies that are actually willing to believe in the future of our towns and protect local branches.”