West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has met with Barclays Bank CEO Matt Hammerstein to discuss the impact of closing the Malvern branch on local customers.
Some elderly and vulnerable constituents who are Barclays customers joined the call to talk to him and senior managers about their concerns and Harriett shared the views of other local people who have contacted her following the bank’s announcement.
Harriett Baldwin on a previous visit to Barclays Bank
The chief executive briefed Harriett on the bank’s decision to shut down the branch and confirmed that the closure resulted from predictions of much lower bank usage once people return to high streets in the coming months.
Local Barclays management plan to meet with customers one-to-one to help them prepare for the closure.
Harriett said:
“Barclays is not the only bank withdrawing from the high street but I wanted to make sure that the chief executive is aware of the strength of feeling of local people about this decision.
“My principal concern is that the bank is abandoning some of its more vulnerable and elderly customers who only bank at the branch and don’t feel confident or safe banking any other way.
“I asked him to confirm that his team will do all it can to support these local customers many of whom have been banking with them for many decades.
“This is closure is bad news for Malvern and I hope that the bank will try and find a way to support our high streets as they carry out this branch closure programme.”