The country’s economy may not be on the upswing, as the latest GDP figures have confirmed, but Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves sounded excited on Friday as she opened the 100th Treasury of the island.
Chancellor in Darwen, Lancashire, a town on the West Pennine Moors, burst into life in the 19th century following the boom in the cotton industry, but has since fallen on hard times despite its still famous for its paint and paper industries.
Like many towns up and down the country, Darwen has lost all its banks – Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander have all flown its nest in the last eight years.
But the new office, which provides banking services to customers (personal and business) of all the high street banks, is seen by ‘Darreners’ (town residents) as a great asset to the community .
‘Blood is amazing,’ said Tracy Fisher, who works nearby at Number 1 Coffee Shop.
Handing me a bacon sarnie and a double espresso, 52-year-old Tracy said: ‘This town depends on money. There are many small shops and the indoor market has many businesses that are cash only. So the office, where people can deposit money and do banking, is a great Christmas present. It’s about time we got some good news here.’
Credit: Jeff Prestridge and Principal Rachel Reeves in Darwen
This was a view from the CEO, as I spent five minutes with him in the small back room of the office. ‘Great supporter of offices?’ I asked, and was refused a nice offer of a croissant. The smiling Reeves responded quickly.
‘He’s a great supporter,’ he said. ‘I am very happy to (officially) open the 100th bank today. We have opened five offices this week and we want them open before Christmas.’
He added: ‘This is a critical time for the high street and people can’t get access to cash – and businesses can’t afford to pay. Over the past few years, there has only been bad news about our high streets – potholes, street names disappearing, banks leaving, crime problems and riots.
‘So it’s really good to read and do something good. It’s not just talking, it’s turning out.’
Darwen’s office is amazing. Located in a store that has been available for over a year, it is bright, modern and welcoming. It is open Monday to Friday, run by the Post Office, with representatives from Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander on special days to help their customers with their financial problems. Like all offices, it’s there because the city is unbanked.
Asif Patel, the head of the department, also manages the local post office. Although it was still early, many people had already come inside.
‘It’s great for some of the older customers in town,’ he told me. ‘If there is a problem, they can come here and see a representative of their bank and make a decision. They will survive the bus journey to Blackburn.’
In its Election manifesto, Labor promised to have 350 bank branches open by 2029. This is a promise the Chancellor does not intend to break.
Pointing in the direction of Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary for Finance, the Government’s control of departments, he said: ‘Tulip has many MPs coming to her asking about the department. Whether in Parliament or in his surgeries, they are all saying: ‘What should I do to get a financial institution?’ MPs from all parties.’
Surprise: Jeff and Tracy Fisher from the 1st Annual Coffee Shop
With 80 more offices in the pipeline, Reeves said he was ‘prepared to meet the 350-phone policy.’ ‘I want to be at the 200th and 350th bank openings to cut those ribbons,’ he added.
Tulip is happy with the progress of the offices, believing that by this time next year there will be 230. He told me: ‘As a countermeasure, we produced this paper called Financial Advocacy and everyone we talked to talked about masked bank offices. The importance of having banking services you can access.
‘I know everyone thinks the internet is online, but a lot of people, especially vulnerable people – older people and those at the bottom of society – find it difficult. Financial institutions are the solution for these people.’
Although the official opening of the 100th bank building was very busy with the chancellor, it was also good to see the representatives of those organizations that have established offices.
will happen: Cash Access UK (the organization set up to find good places and finance by banks), UK Finance (the bank marketing group that started the first offices), and the financial machine network Link (which decides who cities should get. a drive).
Also good to see Natalie Ceeney there. He was instrumental in turning the baseball hub with his 2019 Access to Money Review. He found time to pat me on the back. ‘Without your support for the departments,’ he said, ‘we would not be where we are today, celebrating the 100th party.’
Kind words. Last words to John Howells, Link commissioner. He believes that 350 offices is too small a site. As banks continue to close their branches, leaving cities without funds, he said 1,000 is the ultimate goal.
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