CONCERN has continued to grow following the announcement that an East Yorkshire town’s last remaining bank is to close.
As reported by The Press, banking giant HSBC announced yesterday (November 30) that it would be closing 114 bank branches across the UK next year – including the Pocklington branch.
This decision was taken by the bank after stating that the number of customers using branches had continued to fall since the Covid pandemic.
HSBC said that some of the branches closing are serving fewer than 250 people a week, while usage of its mobile app has almost tripled since 2017 - with the vast majority of transactions completed digitally.
The closure of the Pocklington branch will mean the town is left with no bank, following the closure of Barclays and Lloyds branches.
READ MORE: HSBC to shut 114 banks in 2023: Full list of closed branches
Some banking services will still be available via ATMs at Nationwide Building Society and Sainsbury’s, and at the town’s post office.
The Mayor of Pocklington, Cllr Stephen McCan, has responded to the news and voiced concern that the closure will leave Pocklington's residents and local businesses with no traditional banking facilities – meaning they will have to travel miles to neighbouring towns and cities for the services.
Cllr McCan said: “Pocklington Town Council are saddened and extremely concerned of the impact the closure of the last remaining bank in Pocklington will have on our community of over 10,000 residents, our hight street and local business owners.
“Many of our most vulnerable and elderly residents rely on face-to-face banking facilities despite a clear drive by the banks to force people to use online banking facilities since the start of the pandemic, we are also aware that many of our small businesses rely on banking facilities to deposit their cash takings locally.
“The proposed closure would mean residents and business owners being forced to travel to York, Driffield or Beverley taking footfall out of our town centre and away from other local businesses such as coffee shops and restaurants.
“Pocklington Town Council will be seeking assistance from ERYC (East Riding of Yorkshire Council) to explore potential solutions with CAG (Cash Action Group) in order to maintain a Banking presence in Pocklington.”
Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s managing director of UK distribution, said: “People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.
“The decision to close a branch is never easy or taken lightly, especially if we are the last branch in an area, so we’ve invested heavily in our ‘post-closure’ strategy, including providing free tablet devices to selected branch customers who do not already have a device to bank digitally, alongside one-to-one coaching to help them migrate to digital banking.”
While HSBC branches in York and Malton are safe from closures, branches in Wetherby and Whitby are also set to close next year.
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