The number of bank branches in West Dunbartonshire has dropped by two-thirds since 2010, new data has shown.
Figures obtained by the Lennox from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that there are now just 10 bank branches open throughout West Dunbartonshire, compared to 30 in 2010, and 15 prior to the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Across the UK, the number of bank branches has fallen from 14,855 in 2010 to 6,965 in 2021.
In Scotland, the number of bank branches open dropped by 11 percent in the year to March 2021, from around 690 to around 615. This figure sat at 1,500 in 2010.
Last year Alexandria’s TSB closed its doors for the final time, whilst in 2020 Dumbarton’s Clydesdale Bank branch was also shut.
Jackie Baillie MSP said: “It is completely unacceptable that the number of bank branches in West Dunbartonshire has been slashed to less than a third in just over a decade. And people in Helensburgh have been subject to closures leaving them having to make 40-mile round trips to their nearest bank. I know how important having an open and active bank branch is to many of my constituents and they have been left at a severe disadvantage by these closures.
“For many people their local bank branch is the only access to banking that they have. Closing down branches has seen many people, including elderly and disabled people, having to travel for miles to visit a bank and gain access to funds.
“I have raised the issue of bank closures time and time again in the Scottish Parliament and the banks really need to consider the needs of their customers first.”
