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NEWS RELEASE |
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22 January 2009 |
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BANKING CRISIS – WHAT ABOUT THE BRANCHES? |
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Conspicuous by its absence in all the announcements and negotiations of the banking crisis is any sort of protection for bank branches in vulnerable communities constantly under threat of closure and now even more so. Surprising, as it can be linked directly with the government’s objective of protecting and creating value for the taxpayer from the investments it has necessarily made in the banking sector. Derek French, Director of the Campaign for Community Banking Services (CCBS) said: “Unprecedented pressures on bank profits and capital will inevitably put branch closures back on the agenda, in rural and less well-off urban communities where it hurts. It is up to the Treasury, and its new creature UKFI, to get some commitment to shared branching trials now so that an alternative to closure is ready for when the number crunchers again take the chop to much valued local branches.” CCBS has included the above in evidence submitted to the Treasury Committee’s crisis inquiry and conveyed to UKFI our observations on the benefits to the taxpayer in respect of those banks in which the government has a major shareholding. There can be no excuse for inaction as guaranteeing local access to banking services for individuals and small businesses in this way could be a major contributor to government ambitions to sustain communities, improve financial inclusion and reduce carbon emissions and at the same time provide the banks with a proven formula, which goes beyond the most vulnerable locations, with the ability to substantially reduce operating costs and progressively achieve some helpful capital realisations. Contact:
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