Martyn Jones

Labour Party | Clwyd South

MP Calls For Halifax To Give His Local Branch A ‘Little Extra Help’

One of Britain’s biggest banks, the Halifax is coming under fire from a local MP following its decision to close a small village branch in North Wales.

Senior Labour backbencher, MARTYN JONES MP (Clwyd South) is furious at the Halifax’s decision to close its branch in Rhosllanerchgrugog near Wrexham.

The branch - which is located as an agency within Wingett’s Estate Agents in the village - is scheduled for closure on 9th December this year.

Mr Jones has written to James Crosby, Chief Executive of HBOS - Halifax’s parent company – asking him to reverse the decision on closure.

Commenting on his letter to Mr Crosby, MARTYN JONES MP said:

“Halifax claim in their current advertising slogan that Halifax is “always giving you extra”. This slogan sounds pretty empty to people in my constituency as it patently does not apply to their customers and potential customers in Rhosllanerchgrugog and surrounding villages.

“When one considers that earlier this year HBOS announced annual pre-tax profits of £4.59 billion on top of last year’s £3.8 billion, it is understandable that local people are upset by the decision on closure. How miserly can HBOS get?

 “Mr Crosby boasted earlier this year that HBOS were in future going to focus on “organic growth” in the UK. Closing local branches does not sound very organic to me!

“I have written to Mr Crosby telling him that the branch serves a wide area in my constituency and its closure would be a retrograde step not just for Rhosllannerchrugog, but all the surrounding villages. I want him to reverse the December closure decision as soon as possible.

Martyn Jones is well known for his close scrutiny of how bank and building societies treat their customers. He was the driving force behind the recent campaign to stop financial institutions using dormant accounts to bolster their own profits.