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NEWS Branches out for UK banks as online rises
Senior Editor Scott Thompson
More than 600 bank branches have closed across the UK in the last year, with rural areas worst affected.
business customers.
Rob MacGregor, National Officer at the Unite union, has, however, attacked the move from physical to digital: “This is nothing short of a year-long cull of local branches across the country. RBS seem to be sending a message that properly staffed branch services are only for the privileged.”
with 146. The figures, obtained by the BBC, do not take into account new openings, although challenger Metro Bank is the only FI to open a significant number of branches (41 in the last six years, with a further 59 expected by 2020). In total, about 3,000 have shut over the last decade, according to the Campaign for Community Banking Services.
R
At its annual shareholder meeting during May, RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan justified the closures, noting that the number of people banking on the High Street had dropped by half on average since 2010, while the number of people making transactions online had jumped fourfold.
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) backs that up and says that the majority of customers can access banking services via the Post Office’s network, which has more than 11,500 branches. The industry is currently negotiating with the Post Office to standardise services, including small
In an attempt to quell growing public, union and media unrest over job losses and downsizing, the BBA recently announced that it is launching an independent review of the Access to Banking Protocol. Due to be published later this year, it will include engagement with key stakeholders such as MPs, consumer and small business groups, and the banking sector.
BS closed the most - 166 - followed by HSBC
High Street banks, consumer groups and Government signed up to the initiative in March 2015. The protocol includes an agreement with Government to conduct a ‘one year on’ review. It sets out such requirements as a pre-closure assessment, publishing an impact assessment, ensuring continued provision of alternative ways to bank and an agreement to engage with local communities ahead of branch closures.
Professor Russel Griggs will lead the review, having previously undertaken a review of the Lending Code, as well as acting as the Independent External Reviewer of the UK banks’ SME Appeals Process. He says: “It’s vital that the protocol meets its aim of minimising the impact of bank branch closures on customers and local communities. This review will not only be looking at how the processes behind the protocol are working in practice, but also crucially the outcomes that they are delivering.”
www.ibsintelligence.com © IBS Intelligence 2016
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