The primary concern of CCBS and its supporting organisations is for individual and small business bank customers disadvantaged and inconvenienced by the closure of local branches without suitable substitute arrangements in place. Allied to this are concerns over the impact of the resulting absence of adequate banking access on the sustainability of community retail centres and the reduction of financial exclusion. Banks are businesses and at any point in time may have a different agenda.

Accordingly CCBS seeks to reduce the risk of major banks choosing to go down the wholesale closure route again without having fully explored the potential benefits to them and their customers of the White Label shared branch option.

More information, including the evidence from working examples abroad, is available today than was the case when shared banking, in one format and in one type of community only, was piloted in 2002. CCBS therefore seeks from the banks:

• Agreement to a comprehensive independently led planning study.
• Full co-operation of the banks and their outsourcing suppliers.
• Evaluation of the LINK shared banking technology and the US experience.
• Full participation by CCBS in the study and pilots.
• Publication of the findings, after review by key participants.
• To be completed by 30.09.05 followed by pilot implementations in 2006.
• A budget of £200,000 excluding internal bank costs.

The Study to prepare for a number of pilot schemes to include:

• Different types and sizes of urban and rural community having multi-banked branch using populations, in England, Wales and Scotland
• Directly managed and franchised versions of the White Label model
• One or more in partnership with a credit union and CDFI/CRT
• One or more in partnership with Royal Mail services (not Post Office Ltd to overcome the Bank of Ireland conflict of interests).

The Terms of Reference to cover:

• Services to be offered
• Alternative operating models
• Locations
• Proprietorship
• Outline implementation plan
• Success criteria
• Legal and Compliance issues