LOCALS were left devastated after the last bank in Britain's smallest city closed its doors.
Lloyds is closing its branch in the cathedral city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire.
The popular bank and the last free cashpoint machine for locals and visitors is shutting up shop despite having 300,000 visitors a year.
The 1,800-population city has thousands of visitors to the 12th century cathedral including the Prince and Princess of Wales just weeks ago.
Lloyds are directing its customers to use the facilities of the nearby Post Office counter located in CKs Supermarket for paying in and withdrawing cash.
But angry local MP Stephen Crabb is now taking the the fight to save the city’s bank right to the top of Lloyds.
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And he has called for a mobile banking van if the branch closes as planned on November 27.
He has written to Charlie Nunn, CEO of Lloyds Bank requesting that the mobile banking van is used in St Davids, as an alternative to the branch.
It is the resting place of Saint David, Wales's patron saint, and named after him.
Mr Crabb said: “I received so many replies to my banking survey from residents in St Davids which demonstrates just how strongly people feel about this issue locally, and how important local banking services are for so many in the community.”
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“It was very helpful to hear local views on the impact of the closure of the Lloyds Bank branch in the city and the future options for residents.
"This has come in very useful in my ongoing discussions with both Lloyds and LINK, in particular on maintaining access to cash in St Davids.”
He added: “I have recently had a further meeting with LINK and I’m pleased to confirm that a site has been identified for the ATM and negotiations with an operator are progressing well – I am hopeful that this will be positive news for the community.”
In his letter to Mr Nunn, he states that “given that Lloyds Bank has the last branch in the community, this closure has raised significant concerns about the loss of important financial services in rural, isolated communities like St Davids, and represents the need for a fundamental shift in perspective for residents living there in terms of future accessibility and ability to meet their banking needs.”
Lloyds Banking Group stated that over 20 million of their customers regularly use online banking while 17.3 million use mobile banking.
As digital banking has grown, branch visits have subsequently fallen with all sites facing closure having decreased by an average of 55 per cent in the last five years.
What can I do if my branch is closing?
If you rely on the face-to-face contact that is offered by your high street branch, finding out it is closing can be a worrying time.
However, there are a number of ways that you can still access basic banking services when your local branch has closed down.
If you have a local Post Office you should be able to do most basic banking tasks with them.
This will not apply if you need to apply for a loan or open a new bank account, but they should be able to help you with basic banking.
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Many banks also offer a mobile banking service where the bank brings a bus to your area where services that are usually available at your branch can be obtained.
Just give your bank a call and they will be able to tell you if they offer that service and when and where the bus will be.
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