Face-to-face Banking Services

Lord Altrincham Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

The noble Baroness makes a very valid point. We need to encourage the banks to look at what their customers require. Some 93% of the adult population who have a bank account do their banking online, while 26% of UK adults used a bank branch in the 12 months to May 2024. We need to have an open mind about what else we can do to access and reach out to people. We have more than 10,500 post offices that can be used, and we can use ATMs in areas where there is no banking. There is a whole host of things that we can do. We just need this review to come up with recommendations for the Government to implement as soon as possible.

[Lord Altrincham (Con)]

My Lords, the closure of bank branches presents a case study in increasing regulation and declining service. The regulations were put in place to preserve access to retail banking. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the overarching settlement for banks in the UK to ensure that retail banking does not decline any further?

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

We do not want to see retail banking declining further. We need to take into consideration the changing way in which people use their banks. A lot of banking is now online, but a lot of people still need access to a banking hub, a bank on the high street, or a post office. We need to make sure that all the points the noble Lord raises are taken into consideration.