THE Constable of St Saviour has voiced concerns over the ‘disappointing’ decision to close the last bank in his parish.
Kevin Lewis has written to HSBC urging the management to re-consider its decision to close its Five Oaks branch in August next year, which would mean that the only banks outside town would be at Les Quennevais.
Mr Lewis labelled the move ‘a great disappointment’, saying that some of his parishioners ‘don’t do online banking’ and adding that others were concerned about fraud.
‘There were a lot of people who told me that when they received a text notifying them of the Five Oaks HSBC branch closure, they were wondering if it was a scam,’ said Mr Lewis (pictured).
He said that several banks had closed in his parish recently.
‘In recent times NatWest at Longueville has closed, and this year Lloyds Bank [at Bagatelle] has closed.
‘Now we’ve had news that another bank is going to close.
‘St Saviour has 13,500 residents. It is the second-largest parish in the Island and [soon it will be] without a bank.
‘Travelling to town for some people is difficult,’ said Mr Lewis.
Age Concern chair Ben Shenton said: ‘When the Lloyds branch closed, a lot of members contacted us because they found it very difficult.
‘The older generation still use the in-person services. Not all of them have faith in the new technology and find it extremely difficult.’
Similarly, Mr Lewis added that visiting a bank provided a more ‘personal’ experience.
The Constable said: ‘I’m sad about the way things are going although HSBC did announce that there would not be any staff redundancies, which is quite nice.
‘But banks are so convenient. When people are passing in their cars on their way to work or going home, they can nip in and do their banking.
‘Now people [from St Saviour] will have to go into town and we know that parking there is an issue.’
In a statement issued this week, HSBC said that there was an increasing preference for online banking and fewer in-branch transactions.
HSBC has also announced that its Halkett Street branch is to close in January next year. The cash point there will also go when the branch closes.
Trinity Constable Philip Le Sueur said that the nearest HSBC branch for his parishioners was the Five Oaks branch.
‘The closure of any facility is regrettable. As a parish this will have an impact on a number of parishioners,’ he said.
