A Public Bank

Part of 4. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:21 pm on 6 December 2017.

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Photo of Nick Ramsay Nick Ramsay Conservative 3:21, 6 December 2017

I think we're all singing from pretty much the same hymn sheet in relation to this question, Cabinet Secretary. The last couple of weeks have seen NatWest announce another swathe of closures across Wales—one in Chepstow in my constituency. The last swathe of banking closures was bad enough out in rural areas, but those cutbacks now seem to be extending to larger towns as well, which I think is deeply worrying for our constituents. I think if I would have one criticism of this question, it's trying to do a bit too much, I think, which isn't really a criticism at all, because, obviously, you've conflated two concerns: on the one hand retail banking, but then also the development bank and the role that that has to play.

I think, Cabinet Secretary, you were quite right in saying that, yes, the Welsh Government should be—and, we believe, certainly reforming Finance Wales—setting up a development bank of some type. But that is no substitute for private retail banking out there that's public facing. So, Cabinet Secretary, in terms of, on the one hand, the development bank, will you give an assurance that, when that is finalised, it will, very much as our 'Invest Wales' policy had a few years ago, propose a public-facing high street presence as much as possible so it's accessible to business out there when they need it? And secondly, on the issue of retail banking, yes, it probably does need to have a far stronger statutory footing. I found myself agreeing, maybe worryingly, with Mick Antoniw on this matter. I think he made some excellent points.

Is it possible to have—I appreciate this is not totally within the remit of the Welsh Government—but is it possible to have some sort of forum? We obviously all agree here on the need to retain that retail banking out in our towns and rural areas. Is it possible to have some sort of forum where the banks know full well how we feel about these closures, that they are made to have a far more effective consultation, and that when they say that this is the last round of closures for so long, that when we, as AMs, listen to that, and they convey that to our constituents, that then they have to stick with that, and we don't see a situation, as we have at the moment, where more closures are happening? And all of us—our postbags are full of concerns from people who really do feel that, without internet banking, they're not going to have any access to banking at all.