The Petition of residents of Shildon, County Durham,
Declares that the Petitioners support the proposal to keep the HSBC branch in Shildon open; that it is a vital service for local businesses, residents and visitors to this busy town; further that there are over 10,000 residents in Shildon, and if HSBC were to close, we would be left with no banking facilities, causing problems for local businesses and residents who are unable to make the 3 mile journey to the next nearest HSBC branch.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Treasury to encourage HSBC to keep their Shildon branch open.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Helen Goodman, Official Report, 17 October 2012; Vol. 551, c. 444 .]
[P001122]
Observations from the Secretary of State for the Treasury:
The Government thank the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) for her petition on the closure of the HSBC bank branch in Shildon.
The Government are sorry to hear of the residents of Shildon’s disappointment at the closure of this HSBC branch. Although we can understand their concerns, decisions on opening and closing branches and agencies are taken by the management team of each bank on a commercial basis. As with other banking service providers, HSBC will need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering its strategy and the Government do not intervene in these decisions.
It may be useful to note that many bank account providers already have an arrangement with the Post Office to provide access to their bank accounts. HSBC recently announced that from spring 2013, 9 million HSBC and First Direct customers will be able to withdraw money, deposit cash and cheques and check balances at all 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.