Madam,

Once again I find myself writing to the Cambrian News - this time about the closure of yet another branch of what were once called clearing banks, and I agree with everything that Steve Jagger of Machynlleth states in his letter, Bank closure about people not geography.

I am a retired member of one of the ‘big five’ which used to dominate our high streets and am ashamed to say that they no longer appear to be a service industry.

There were no monthly targets to be met trying to sell the bank’s products. There was a manager who knew all his/her customers; whether you could afford that loan for a car or if you could keep up repayments on a credit card and would advise you accordingly.

Cashiers and clerks dealt with foreign and legal matters, not forgetting the back room staff who kept everything ‘ticking over’. Banks dealt with money and building societies dealt with mortgages. Experts both, but in different fields of expertise.

Now what do you have? One, or a maximum of two cashiers who can deal with most of the everyday needs of customers. But, while they serve and chat with one customer, a queue builds behind them also waiting for their needs to be seen to.

If you’re in a hurry someone says to you: “Please use the machines, they are easy to use etc... It’s the way forward and what customers want and saves you waiting.”

Well, let me put them straight. Not everyone wants to use a machine. What customers do want is quick service and that means more staff available on counters.

I realise things need to change and modernise, but would the money world still be in financial meltdown if we had kept things more personal? So why do banks insist on closing branches and taking away facilities which are desperately needed by the people of towns across the Wales and the rest of the UK? I think it is to make up for the millions in losses made during the banking crisis.

Why don’t the banks answer honestly and not blame the customers by saying; ‘it’s what customers want’. Because not all of them do. It’s a question of whether a branch is profitable or not.

Yours etc,

Sue Slocombe, Llanon.

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