Dr Altaf Hussain AM has written to Lloyds TSB to express his concern at what he describes as a “worrying trend” in branch closures in what he calls “peripheral areas”. This follows concerns that the closure of Lloyds Bank outlets in Skewen and Swansea’s Uplands will have a detrimental effect on local communities, and in particular older residents.
Dr Hussain said: “This is can be seen as a worrying trend. Many people – particularly the older generation - may be in the habit of withdrawing their weekly pension on one day whilst getting other banking-related tasks done, and a lot of their weekly shopping. This means they are probably more likely to spend more of their cash near to the location at which they withdraw it.
“In the case of Skewen this is not great news for local businesses. We have heard similar stories in other parts of South Wales – particularly the South Wales valleys – where local traders have definitely reported an adverse effect on business.
“The effect seems to fall disproportionately on peripheral areas.
“Online banking may also simply not be an answer for older customers who do not use the Internet, which will affect the banks’ customers everywhere. Many residents in Uplands have told me that travelling even a couple of miles extra to get to a bank or Post Office isn’t a viable alternative as they are very elderly or suffer from a disability which makes a trip that most would find easy fraught with practical difficulty.
“Banks should look to innovate, whether this be through greater use of mobile branches that tour around different communities, or by co-locating inside local supermarkets for example, so they can retain a physical presence in the area. Moving ‘out of town’ probably isn’t the best publicity for them, and will definitely disadvantage many of their customers – who will often have been loyal to them for years”.
ENDS