Nationwide isn’t so different from banks after all
But Nationwide, the country’s biggest building society, stands accused of hypocrisy and acting just like a bank over its plans to pull out of Bagshot, Surrey, depriving villagers of their only bank or building society branch.
Nationwide announced the closure of the branch at the beginning of the month by putting up a poster in the window, stating it would be closed on May 22.
The society claims that the branch is not making enough money and that it does not sell enough financial products to make it viable.
But this does not wash with many villagers and traders who are furious over the decision. They believe by pulling out of Bagshot, the society is undermining the viability of the village as a place to do business.
The branch’s closure will also inconvenience many Nationwide customers, especially the elderly and infirm, who will be required to travel to nearby towns such as Camberley or Bracknell to do their banking.
Michael Gove, Conservative MP for Surrey Heath and Shadow Minister for Children, Schools and Families, joined dozens of villagers when they protested outside the doomed branch eight days ago.
A petition organised by the Bagshot Society, an organisation representing the interests of villagers, has already attracted more than 1,000 signatures.
Organising the fight to keep the branch open is Glyn Carpenter, 57-year-old chairwoman of the Bagshot Society and owner of The Village Cafe.
‘The closure does not make sense,’ she says. ‘Yes, the branch is small with only three counters, but it’s constantly busy and there are always queues outside for the cash machine.
‘I bank at the branch every day, as do many other businesses in the village. The branch provides a vital service to the people and businesses of Bagshot and the nearby villages of Windlesham and Lightwater. We can’t afford to do without it.’
Village voice: Glyn Carpenter is leading the campaign
Carpenter plans to take a coachload of villagers to Nationwide’s headquarters in Swindon, Wiltshire, so they can hand in the petition to Nationwide’s boss, Graham Beale.
Gove is also putting pressure on Beale - he has written to the chief executive saying the closure will ‘deprive Bagshot’s older and poorer residents of a safe and accessible place to conduct banking transactions’. He says the proximity of other Nationwide branches should not be an excuse for the society to withdraw from Bagshot.
‘The suggestion that those who have accounts in the Bagshot branch transact their business in Camberley, Bracknell or Crowthorne is sadly not an option for all too many,’ he says. LATEST ON…
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‘The distances involved and lack of public transport leave the most vulnerable customers worst off.’ Derek French of the Campaign for Community Banking says it is ‘rare’ for Nationwide to be involved in ‘last bank in town closures’ - 98% of such moves involve Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds or Royal Bank of Scotland.
He says Nationwide should allow the premises to be used as a shared branch - where the banks provide facilities under one roof. ‘It would attract positive publicity at little or no cost and could well prove to be the tipping point for action by the banking industry,’ he says. To date, banks have been reluctant to share branches.