Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Closure decision is "final" says Llan bank boss

The recently announced decision by bosses at HSBC to close the Llangollen branch is final.
That is the clear message from Rachel K Thomas, regional director, retail banking & wealth management, South West & Wales, in an email to David Davies, chair of Llangollen Chamber of Trade and Tourism.

Earlier this week, Mr Davies wrote to her requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the closure.
But in her emailed reply, which came through earlier today (Tuesday) she declines the request and makes it clear that the closure, which has sparked a wave anger in the town, will go ahead.

The email reads in full: 

Dear Mr Davies

Thank you for your recent email regarding the closure of Llangollen Branch.  

We are always reluctant to close branches and will only make a decision to do so after a careful and rigorous review of the sustainability of the branch. This takes into consideration the branch’s performance over the last five years and an in depth analysis of internal and external data to understand branch use and the local demographics. We will also consider whether there are other measures we can take to improve the viability of the branch, such as reducing opening hours. Unfortunately, in the case of Ll angollen branch, the level of business is not sufficient to justify the branch's continued operation and we have taken the decision to close the branch.

Whilst we fully understand the depth of feeling about our decision to close this branch, the decision is final. We therefore believe that our time is best spent providing tailored one to one support to our Llangollen customers who may have problems accessing banking facilities and ensuring that their needs are catered for in the best way possible. As a result, I must regretfully decline your invitation to a public meeting.

Kind regards

Rachel K Thomas

Regional Director, Retail Banking & Wealth Management, South West & Wales Region, HSBC Bank PLC.

* This Thursday, at 12noon, the chamber is going ahead with a formal protest outside the bank in Bridge Street and is inviting as many local people as possible to take part.

1 comment:

  1. Not surprised at all with this reply . This Bank branch must have had a slow decline in footfall over a period of time so a decision was made . Let's face it Town was busy in the Summer but tourists are not looking for credit cards , loans or mortgages are they ?
    This is a reminder to everybody who banks with Nat West or Barclays to use their branch for any banking products needed . Otherwise they will go the same way . Not having a Bank at all is the worst case scenario for Llangollen . As for ATMs they can be placed in so many different places now . So if you want to keep the present Banks "use it or lose it " !

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