Bank branch closures. Yes, I know, everyone banks online these days (I don’t) so what’s the need for them? More to the point, banks long ago gave up any pretense of offering a service to their customers. Closing branches cuts costs and boosts the bottom line, so suck it up Johnny Customer.

But here’s a really egregious example of shitting on your customers. The last two banks in Alnwick, Northumberland, namely Lloyds and Halifax, will close next year. So it’ll be stand in the Post Office queue for half an hour or travel 20 miles if you want face-to-face banking in a town with a population of 8,000, many of whom are retired and would not feel safe banking online. Furthermore, Alnwick serves a large rural hinterland with no other banks.

I must declare a personal interest here as I use both branches on occasions and my grandfather was manager of Lloyds in Alnwick. What really annoys me though is that Halifax is a subsidiary of Lloyds. So why not close one (they’re next door to each other) and offer to switch accounts to the one kept open? That way they’d keep people happy and probably retain their business. As the last bank in the town they might even gain some accounts from other banks – Barclays closed their branch just last year for example.

But no, they’re both going, sacrificed on the altar of the cashless society and the bottom line. The Banks won’t be satisfied until they’ve closed every branch in the country and those that rule us can then usher in the digital currency they desire and give themselves total control over our lives.

Fuck off Lloyds Banking Group, you cunts.

Chronicle Live

Nominated by: Geordie Twatt