Public must keep access to high st banks...and cash

THE Bank of England's governor has insisted walk-in branch services must stay on the nation's high streets.

- Martyn Brown

Andrew Bailey's staunch defence of traditional banking comes as at least 189 branches will shut this year, on top of the 645 closures in 2023.

Nearly 6,000 have disappeared since 2015 as services move online.

The Daily Express launched the Save Our High Street Banks crusade over fears high street services will vanish by 2027. Mr Bailey told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee yesterday: "It is important people in this country have the ability to have direct access to their banks. By direct, I don't just mean online in other words physical."