MP calls banking hub rejection 'unacceptable'

An MP has criticised a decision not to bring a banking hub to a town in Leicestershire following the planned closure of a high street branch.

Amanda Hack, Labour MP for North West Leicestershire, said the decision by ATM network LINK to reject calls for a hub was "unacceptable" with the impending closure of a Lloyds Bank branch in Coalville.

A banking hub is a shared, high-street space providing in-person banking services to communities that have lost their traditional bank branches.

LINK said following an assessment, there were other available ways to access cash in the town, including the Post Office.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Lloyds Banking Group said it plans to close two branches in Leicestershire, including one in Hinckley and Coalville, this year.

The Coalville branch is set to close on 23 June.

Neighbouring towns of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Hinckley have a banking hub but a call for one in Coalville has been rejected.

Hack said it was "vital" to keep in-person banking in the town and the closure of Lloyds in Coalville "risks leaving our community behind".

"It is simply not acceptable that a bank rescued by taxpayers during the financial crisis to the tune of billions of pounds is now withdrawing services while its profits continue to grow," she said.

"I will be formally appealing to LINK over the decision not to grant a banking hub to the largest town in our constituency, and I continue to urge residents and stakeholders to back my petition to show the strength of local feeling."

A LINK spokesperson said: "We carry out access-to-cash assessments when a bank branch closes or if people in the local community ask us to, and we publish the outcome of our assessment and any recommendations we make for new cash access services.

"We visited Coalville as part of our assessment to understand the cash access needs locally. In addition to several free-to-use cash machines, there is a Nationwide branch and three Post Offices within a mile of the high street, which are a convenient option for many people and businesses to manage their cash."

A Lloyds spokesperson added: "Customers want the freedom to bank in the way that works for them and we offer more choice and ways to manage money than ever before."

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