YesCymru cofounder calls for Wales to have its own central bank

A cofounder of YesCymru has called for Wales to have its own central bank.

Iestyn ap Rhobert, who was the first Chair of the grassroots pro-independence group when it was launched in 2014, made the comments in an interview with Politics.co.uk about Welsh independence.

Wales’ money supply is currently controlled by the Bank of England, the governor of which is appointed by the Head of State on the recommendation of the UK Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

Iestyn ap Rhobert said: “We need a central bank, we need our own currency, in order to kind of have the tools to improve the lives of people here.

“So, it’s a question of governance, as well as a question of the principle of being an independent nation.”

Mark Hooper, founder of Banc Cambria, a community bank run by its membership that is being set up for Wales, believes that the people of Wales are more than capable of running their own institutions.

He said: “I think setting up a bank, a retail bank is a real opportunity for Wales because Wales needs institutions. We can’t just have the same old we’ve had before.

“We’ve got to take responsibility and a lot of what we can do, we can do today. We don’t need to have full independence to set up what we’ve done with Banc Cambria.”

‘Proven’ 

He added: “So we’re being very close to being able to establish our community bank, and the thing that I think I’ve learnt most about that is that sometimes you know you get questions as to whether or not we are able to do some of these things, and I think that we’ve proven and we can prove in lots of other ways that we’re more than capable of taking these challenges on.

“More than capable of developing institutions that suit us today, but that will suit us into the future as well.

“There are a lot of people with a lot of concerns. You know they’re concerned about how the economy might work in an independent Wales.

“So there’s justifiable concerns that need to be addressed, but the things that people are starting to is realise that Westminster isn’t it, and you know and the UK being over is a refrain that you’re hearing time and time and time again, and when people start to say ‘well actually I don’t see the UK being the answer’ then Wales becomes the answer, then Scotland becomes the answer, the a united Ireland.