Recent news about the proposed “Essex Bank” should be just the start says Cllr Graham Longley LibDem parliamentary candidate Rochford & Southend East.
A proposal by a new coalition of groups calling for the formation of a Post Bank to be part of the Post Office service would take the Essex idea further and was more likely to help secure local post offices
Cllr Longley pointed out that around three million people are still denied access to basic finance in the UK, including the most disadvantaged, pensioners and those in very remote rural areas and a post bank with the Post Office would benefit this group enormously.
“With the credit crunch causing a loss of confidence in both banks and bankers, the time has never been better to create a Post Bank” he said “Post Bank could offer safe, reliable banking services for individual customers and business alike, through the large post office network.
For the Post Office, Post Bank would expand its services, helping to put it back on a secure and profitable long term footing.
The model for a Post Bank proposed by the coalition would provide more financial services to people and businesses currently not served by high street lenders. It would strengthen the role of post offices and the Post Office Network making it more viable, creating new job opportunities, and securing its role for the future, ensure a stable source of finance in the heart of communities, particularly for the three million people still without such services.
“Interestingly enough” he went on to say “The dynamic small businesses that pound for pound create more jobs than big business, are experiencing an increase in the cost of new credit through the high street banks and many are looking for alternative sources of finance to help them through the recession
“It appears that 38 per cent of small firms would consider banking with a Post Bank built on the Post Office Network.
The cause for Post Bank is firmly rooted in Europe and the rest of the world and it is time we looked at following the examples across the world and brought the benefits of the Post Bank to this country.
