The variety of financial institution branches in West Dunbartonshire has dropped by two-thirds since 2010, new knowledge has proven.
Figures obtained by the Lennox from the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) present that there are actually simply 10 financial institution branches open all through West Dunbartonshire, in comparison with 30 in 2010, and 15 previous to the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Throughout the UK, the variety of financial institution branches has fallen from 14,855 in 2010 to six,965 in 2021.
In Scotland, the variety of financial institution branches open dropped by 11 p.c within the yr to March 2021, from round 690 to round 615. This determine sat at 1,500 in 2010.
Final yr Alexandria’s TSB closed its doorways for the ultimate time, while in 2020 Dumbarton’s Clydesdale Financial institution department was additionally shut.
Jackie Baillie MSP stated: “It's utterly unacceptable that the variety of financial institution branches in West Dunbartonshire has been slashed to lower than a 3rd in simply over a decade. And other people in Helensburgh have been topic to closures leaving them having to make 40-mile spherical journeys to their nearest financial institution. I understand how vital having an open and energetic financial institution department is to a lot of my constituents they usually have been left at a extreme drawback by these closures.
“For many individuals their native financial institution department is the one entry to banking that they've. Closing down branches has seen many individuals, together with aged and disabled individuals, having to journey for miles to go to a financial institution and achieve entry to funds.
“I've raised the difficulty of financial institution closures time and time once more within the Scottish Parliament and the banks really want to contemplate the wants of their clients first.”