Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has criticised HSBC’s decision to close 114 branches in 2023, including the Colwyn Bay branch.

The leading bank made the announcement today, stating that the closures are down to “a reduction in footfall in most of the branches by more than 50%”.

The Colwyn Bay branch will close on August 15th 2023 . Posters will be displayed in the branch giving details of the closure, and HSBC will be writing to regular users of the branch on 23 January 2023 to provide more information about the closure, and the alternative services available to them.

Commenting on the news, Darren said:

“I am extremely disappointed to see HSBC abandoning our high streets in this way with total disregard for their customers and staff, and I am particularly concerned that Colwyn Bay is to lose another bank – having seen the closure of Barclays Bank only two months ago. Customers will have to travel over 7 miles away to Llandudno if they want to see someone face-to-face - and who knows how long that branch will be open for!

“Whilst I recognise that more people are now banking online, there are still many people, particularly the elderly, who like to bank in person and it is a great worry that this option is being take away from them.

“Bank closures have been commonplace in recent years and I have repeatedly raised my concerns about this in the Senedd chamber. They impact on businesses and the whole community in general.

“As I have previously said, we really need to see a long term plan to secure banking services in local communities so that everyone can access face to face services close to where they live. Sharing premises, the development of partnerships with other firms, and mobile banking services may help to achieve this aim.

“I will be writing to HSBC to express my strong objections to these plans.”