Plaid Cymru’s Arfon MP Hywel Williams has argued that Wales should be able to tackle the rise in number of bank closures and the impact on rural communities.
Mr Williams said that if the Westminster government refuses to tackle the banking culture, then Wales should be able to take steps to ensure that everyone is able to access financial services locally.
The Campaign for Community Banking Services says over the past 20 years 7,388 banks have closed in the UK including converted building societies. It also notes that there are now 56 communities across Wales left with just one bank.
Plaid would like to see the creation of local, community-based banks, located in Welsh Post Offices, as a vehicle for tackling financial exclusion and supporting Welsh small businesses.
Plaid Cymru’s Hywel Williams MP said: “Arguments for local banks are same as those of maintaining the rural Post Office network.
“Banks are vital for sustaining local commercial activity, are instrumental in combating financial and social exclusion, and are key to assisting the vulnerable, disabled and elderly with their banking.
“Plaid Cymru would like to see a range of measures put in place to meet the impact of bank closures, such as the creation of a ‘community bank’ or banking centre which would act as a transaction agent for several banks.
“It would also be a point of access for small businesses looking to get loans to grow and develop. “
Under Labour, thousands of Post Offices were closed, many of them in rural areas where they were the only financial service for miles around, while Labour MPs often lied to their constituents that they were trying to save their local branch when they had voted to cut them at Westminster.
“A Welsh People’s Bank, using the current Post Office network, could turn this around.
“It would be the single best place to fight financial exclusion, making sure that everybody has access to a bank account that is easily accessible in the heart of our communities.
“If Westminster refuses to take radical steps to change the banking culture, then we in Wales should be allowed to take them for ourselves.”
