Newcastle Building Society’s new branch in Pickering opened its doors this week - bucking the national trend of branch closures.

Colleagues welcomed the first customers on Monday morning as it opened its new branch on Pickering’s Market Place, securing the future of local financial services and advice in the town.

The Society’s 32nd branch marks the latest phase in a multi-year, multi-million-pound investment into high streets and communities in the region.

As well as a full range of branch services and a team of friendly experts available to talk to face to face, Newcastle Building Society is pioneering the use of a multi-bank kiosk in its new Pickering location. OneBanx, a Glory company, enables personal and small business customers to withdraw money and make cash deposits into their own bank account. All are welcome to come into the branch and make use of the OneBanx kiosk, whether or not they are customers of Newcastle Building Society.

The new branch expands the Society’s presence in Pickering, which started in 2019 when it acquired a financial advice-only office in the town. The current financial advice team will move from its existing office on Champley’s Mews to the new branch on Market Place.

Andrew Haigh, chief executive officer at Newcastle Building Society said: “We’re delighted to open our new Pickering branch, extending our presence in the town where we’ve maintained a financial advice office for a number of years, and building on our commitment to face-to-face financial services and advice. Bank branch closures are blighting our communities, putting more and more people at risk of financial exclusion and removing choice in how they manage their money.

“As a mutual, we’ll continue to focus on being available in the way our members and communities need us. As well as investing in our online services, this means investing heavily in our branch network – providing customers with choice in how they manage their finances, by growing and extending our presence in the communities we serve. And we’re seeing the evidence that this is what our communities want as people vote with their feet and balances and customer numbers grow.”

“We believe high streets are always better with branches, helping to create value in the community beyond our products and services, and the fantastic branch team are already actively engaging with the people and communities of Pickering and beyond.”

Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said:“I am thrilled that Newcastle Building Society has now confirmed that their Pickering branch is now open. I met with Newcastle Building Society earlier this year who currently have a financial advice centre in the town and the arrival of the new full-service branch will mean access to financial services, cash and deposits for my constituents in Pickering.”

Pickering branch is the Society’s 32nd branch, in a network covering the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.