MULTIPLE banks could share one location in order to keep out-of-town services open, the Economic Development Minister has suggested after it was announced that yet another branch was due to close.
Deputy Kirsten Morel’s comments in the States Assembly follow an announcement by Lloyds last week that it would be closing its Les Quennevais branch in December.
The bank has cited customer transactions falling by almost a third between 2018 and 2023, but the decision has been condemned by St Brelade politicians and a charity.
Age Concern chairman Ben Shenton previously said elderly Islanders would be hit hard by the closure.
Yesterday during questions without notice in the States, St Saviour Constable Kevin Lewis added his voice to growing criticism of the bank’s announcement. Lloyds closed its branch in St Saviour in 2022, while in 2023 HSBC announced it would also be shutting its branch in the parish.
Mr Lewis asked Deputy Morel if he was aware of the recent closures, which he said had left St Saviour “without a bank, as the Island seems to be moving towards a cashless society”.
Deputy Morel said he recognised and agreed with Mr Lewis’s concerns.
He added that the Les Quennevais branch served “many, many people” and said that with Jersey’s ageing population, “there is likely to be, perhaps, a greater call for rural branches”.
“It is a concern of mine,” he said.
“I do wonder if we could perhaps even think, as an island, of rather than one branch – perhaps there can be one location, but with three or four banks operating out of that location,” he said.
Deputy Morel stressed that this was “an idea”.
In the UK – where the Lloyds Banking Group has said it was due to close at least 237 branches in 2024 and 2025 – some towns host “banking hubs”, high street spaces where multiple banks share facilities. Counters are run by Post Office staff and staff from different banks visit the hubs on different days.
Currently, Lloyds’ St Brelade branch is open on weekdays from 9.30am to 4.30pm, with a range of accessible services including wheelchair access, support for those with hidden disabilities and acceptance of assistance dogs, in addition to provision of longer appointments on request. The branch is due to close on 13 December.
