THERE is very little the government can do to force banks to keep branches open when their footfall is declining and viability is undermined, the External Relations Minister has said.
Deputy Ian Gorst, who worked in banking and accountancy before he entered politics, and who has political responsibility for financial services, was speaking to the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel in the wake of the recent announcement that Lloyds will shut its St Brelade branch in December.
The upcoming closure means that HSBC in Les Quennevais will become the only remaining bank branch outside town, with none others serving parishioners in the north or east of the Island.
Lloyds blamed a fall in customer transactions of almost a third between 2018 and 2023 and said Islanders could use its Broad Street branch and continue to use online, mobile and telephone banking.
The JEP understands that a group of five St Brelade politicians, led by Deputy Jonathan Renouf, are now to meet Lloyds officials to discuss potential solutions after signing a letter to Adele Bohlen, islands director and chief executive of Lloyds Bank International.
Deputy Gorst, who lives in the west of the Island, nonetheless told panel chair Deputy Montfort Tadier that Islanders had “more access to banks than any equivalent population size across the UK and Europe”.
On whether the government would seek to intervene in the closure, Deputy Gorst said: “I’m not sure that there’s anything the government can do directly; bear in mind we are well served by our banks, and there is access to branches and cash, which the government would want to see.”
He added that, while he knew the closure would affect Islanders, “statistics show that more and more people are moving to digital banking”.
Since the closure, ministers have floated ideas of a “banking hub”, in which three or four banks could operate from in one shared location.
Discussing this idea, Deputy Gorst said that Islanders would have to “ask ourselves if it was necessary”.
He further revealed that before the announcement, Lloyds approached Jersey Post to ask about a partnership and providing banking in local post offices, but that initiative was not pursued.
“The banks are open to conversations, and they are very mindful of Islanders,” Deputy Gorst added.
