Written question WQ87024

This is the independent decision of a major global corporation. The Welsh Government has not undertaken an Economic Assessment on this or other bank closures.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has previously stated that banks and building societies remain responsible for assessing the impact of any branch closures and for considering alternatives to meet customer needs. In the case of Tenby, HSBC has created an Impact Analysis Report (which can be seen online). It has yet to deliver a ‘Stakeholder Engagement Report’.

UK Finance and the largest retail banks and building societies have made five commitments to continue to preserve access to cash for consumers and businesses over the long term, but the rapid and ongoing pace of branch closures does not – to my mind – seem to be matched by the scale of innovation and energy to protect those individuals and businesses who are now feeling the negative impacts of such rapid change in access to branches.

In the Spring, the Financial Conduct Authority will publish an analysis of its 2022 Financial Lives Survey which will provide further insights, although the scale of the issue is already evident.

The Which! tracker shows that for Wales, from January 2015 to the end of 2023 there will have been 304 closures of banks and building society branches, with only 255 remaining open after that time.

We will continue to monitor research and analysis emerging from across the UK to inform our understanding.