Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet senior management of NatWest Bank to urge them to re-consider their decision to closes branches in Llangollen, Corwen and other communities in North Wales; and what steps his Department is taking to support high street banks in communities in North Wales.

Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy.

The Government is committed to increasing competition to deliver innovation and good financial products and services for all bank customers, and part of the Government’s long term economic plan is to ensure that banks serve all sections of society.
The government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, a bank must carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. The steps include establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting satisfactory alternative measures in place before a branch is closed.