Local MP Neil Hudson met with the boss of the Cumberland Building Society to discuss the state of high street banking services amid local bank closures.
Dr Hudson, who represents Penrith and The Border, met with Des Moore, CEO of the Cumberland.
Dr Hudson thanked Mr Moore for bucking the national trends with his commitment to maintaining high street services and also discussed how they could work together to better provide accessible banking services in an area with transport and digital connectivity challenges.
Dr Hudson is supporting the Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill that would enable building societies to raise more funds from sources other than savings, thus levelling the playing field with banks and helping to support more savers onto the housing ladder.
The Building Societies Association has welcomed the bill, which is receiving Government support, as it will facilitate building societies’ capacity to lend more into the economy and drive competition in the mortgage market.
Dr Hudson has also joined a cross-party campaign to change FCA rules to ensure LINK can step in earlier to provide banking hubs when high street banking services faulter.
This moves away from the current ‘last bank in town’ model where banking hubs are not implemented until it is too late, often leading to an unnecessary transition period where consumers are unable to access financial services.
Dr Hudson said: “Local bank closures have been incredibly dispiriting – especially for my many constituents dealing with digital connectivity challenges and long journeys to their next closest branch.
“That is why I am incredibly thankful to Des Moore and his team at the Cumberland Building Society for sticking with fully-staffed banking services on the high street. This is so important for us in rural areas and especially for vulnerable people who benefit so much from talking to real people rather than automated webchats or phonelines.”
