Campaigning to save rural banks - Entrepreneur Generations

High Street banks are are continuing to close:
Futures Forum: More high street banks to close in Devon >>> "If you don’t keep a town’s pubs, restaurants, shops – and, yes, its banks – a town starts going into decline."
Futures Forum: No 'multi-bank' for Sidmouth > banks reject sharing facilities

Two branches will be closing in Sidmouth:
NatWest is accused of ‘banking on the cheap’ with mobile unit in Sidmouth | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald
Barclays Bank announces Sidmouth branch to close in November | Latest Sidmouth and Ottery News - Sidmouth Herald

And the last bank has now closed in Ottery St Mary:
Ottery’s Lloyds Bank mobile bank gets up and running as the branch closes - Claire Wright 

There are campaigns to slow this down - or at least to offer alternative services - as reported by the Rural Services Network:

01.10.2018

PLANS ANNOUNCED TO SAVE RURAL BANKS

NEWSBANKSFUTURE OF RURAL AREASBARRIERS TO ACCESS

Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Rebecca Long-Bailey MP was interviewed by the Eastern Daily Press during the Labour Party Conference about plans to protect rural bank branches.

She said a Labour Government would hand more power to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) so that if a bank wanted to close a branch it would have to meet certain criteria, including ensuring that closure would not ‘degrade local financial infrastructure’. Ultimately, she said, the FCA would have the power to veto bank closures if they were found to be detrimental to the local community.

Long-Bailey said that this would have the added benefit of reversing the increase of pay-day lenders on high streets: ‘The fear is that if Government doesn’t take action on this, the first point of call for people financially would be to go to these lenders and get a loan instead of getting financial advice from the bank.’

Full articles:

→ Eastern Daily Press - Labour vows to save East Anglia’s rural banks

→ The Mirror - Labour's plan to save the high street - buses for under 25s, no ATM charges and wi-fi for all

Plans announced to save rural banks - Rural Services Network
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from Futures Forum https://ift.tt/2QpwIcA Campaigning to save rural banks - Entrepreneur Generations

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