Charity expresses concern over bank branch closures

ELDERLY people will lose a ‘social’ outlet and may struggle to use online banking as a substitute service following the closure of two branches of NatWest International, a charity has warned.

Last week the bank announced that its Les Quennevais and Longueville branches would shut on 7 January, adding that customers were increasingly using online services and that the business needed to ‘move with the times’.

A further two branches are due to close in Guernsey, with the bank looking to shed staff numbers by as much as 10% across its sites, which are mainly based in the Crown Dependencies.

Senator Sarah Ferguson, chairwoman of Age Concern, said that she was concerned about the impact of local branches closing on the elderly, particularly following the difficulties they have already faced during the Covid-19 crisis.

‘It really is a concern. A lot of old people have been frightened during the lockdown. They were forced to stay at home during the pandemic and were lonely,’ she said.

‘Any form of socialisation is good for them, even if that is just going down to the local bank and talking to someone behind the counter about a holiday, or if they have run a marathon.

‘I think this is a really bad decision at this time. It would be nice if they could keep bus stops open close to banks too, like they haven’t done with the closure of Broad Street.’

She added that she believed many elderly people might struggle to access banking services altogether due to mobility issues and a lack of computer literacy.

‘A lot of old people just can’t use computers, so where are those people going to go for banking services?’ she said.

‘We used to run computer courses for elderly people at Age Concern but we stopped them. It looks like we might have to start doing them again – it’s something we’ll have to discuss at the next committee meeting.’