Following the news that Lloyds will close its branches in Brecon and Presteigne, David Chadwick MP met with representatives from Lloyds Bank and LINK at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton.
The High Street branch in Brecon is set to close on February 11, 2025 and the Hereford Street branch in Presteigne will close less than a month later on March 3.
Lloyds says the reason for the closures is that fewer people are using the branches.
The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said that he told Lloyds he will “not sit idly” while banks close their doors.
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“This is the third closure in a year and I don’t buy their reasoning for it,” he said.
“The cost of running these branches is a drop in the ocean compared to the enormous profits banks are making. Lloyds made £7.5 billion in pre-tax profit in 2023; the cost of running these branches is minimal for them. These cuts do not need to happen. They are driven by greed.
“Banks justify the closures by saying that overall customer behaviour is changing, and that younger people are more likely to bank online. That much might be true, but a significant number of elderly and vulnerable people still rely on in-person banking: not everyone can access digital banking. Customers do not deserve to be shut out. Many people have told me that they switched banks after HSBC and Barclays left Brecon; and customers do not want to be left behind or switching banks every six months.”
Mr Chadwick continued: “For years now, Britain’s banks have been allowed to get away with abandoning their customers. The Conservatives were great friends of the bankers: giving banks tax cut after tax cut, and even allowed bankers to pay themselves massive bonuses again. Now it is time to turn the dial back in the other direction.
“Jane Dodds and I have asked LINK to conduct assessments in Brecon, Builth Wells, Presteigne and Ystradgynlais. Since we met, LINK have conducted their assessment, concluding that unfortunately, due to the current laws and regulatory guidance, Brecon is not eligible for a banking hub because it still has a bank and a building society.
“For me, this shows the rules written by our last government do not acknowledge the needs of our rural communities. They favour banks not people. We need a long-term solution for cash access across our towns and villages.
“I will be speaking to the Treasury and the relevant regulator (FCA) to ask them to update their rules. We shouldn’t have to wait for all the banks to leave a town before they are compelled to offer a service to their customers.”