NOT for the first time, one of the UK’s biggest banks is facing pressure to call a halt to its latest branch closure plans.
And it is hard to escape the conclusion that the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which is campaigning against the latest cuts proposed by Lloyds Banking Group, has a very strong argument.
The FSB knows more than most the effects branch closures have had on small business owners. As spokesman Stuart Mackinnon noted, cash remains the biggest payment method in the UK, despite the advance of digital technology.
While that remains the case, firms will always require branches to deposit their cash. However, with continual cuts to branch networks that is becoming less convenient, and more expensive.
The problem facing SMEs was set out in stark terms when Royal Bank of Scotland unveiled plans to close 62 branches before Christmas. Until RBS, in the face of intense political pressure, handed a stay of execution to 10 of those branches, it would have meant customers on Barra would have had to make a 30-mile journey, including a ferry ride, to Lochboisdale to access a branch.
Both Lloyds and RBS owe their survival through the financial crisis to massive bailouts by UK taxpayers. It is surely not too much to ask they offer customers the continuation of accessible banking services in return.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here