A MEETING has taken place between MP Harriett Baldwin and Barclays Bank CEO Matt Hammerstein to discuss the impact the closure of the Malvern branch will have on customers across the district.
Some elderly and vulnerable residents who bank with Barclays joined the call to talk to him and senior managers about their concerns and Ms Baldwin also shared the views of other local people who had contacted her following the announcement.
The chief executive briefed the MP’s 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 returned 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.
Ms Baldwin 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 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.”
