A credible nation must have its own bank

Stephen Price

Long before their historic election win, ‘Plaid Cymru separatists’, as right-wing detractors refer to them time and time again, made it clear that they have no intention of seeking an independence referendum during their first term.

Grown up conversations and calls for parity, sure, but nuance is lost on some, as is blatancy.

*Should*… I say.. *should* any particular party reflect the will of the people of Wales, who may believe in independence today, now in a minute, or much further down the line, Plaid are undeniably laying some decent foundations…

In response to Andy Burnham’s coronation, Plaid Cymru (Separatist ssshhhh!) Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP said: “Plaid Cymru, both in Westminster and in government in Wales, stands ready to work constructively with the incoming Prime Minister to improve the lives of people in Wales.

“The new Labour leader and next Prime Minister must take a genuinely different approach to governing if he wants to abide by his pro-devolution principles. After years of over-centralised inequality, we hope this will mark the beginning of a more respectful and productive relationship between Wales and Westminster.

“Plaid Cymru has a mandate from the people of Wales to demand greater devolution, including powers over rail, the Crown Estate, justice, and policing. Andy Burnham has talked the talk on devolution, it’s now time for him to walk the walk and respect that mandate.”

At the moment, clearly, parity with our neighbours within the United Kingdom is enough of an uphill struggle, and any Government will want to prove they can walk before they can run, so to the task at hand it is. For now. Ahem.

One thing that has been missing from much of the conversation about fairness for Wales, however, has been Wales’ banking landscape.

In 2021, Mark Drakeford took aim at “mainstream financial institutions”, which have ditched Welsh high streets, leaving them “bereft of facilities on which many people have relied”.

In July 2022, Monmouthshire Building Society hailed plans for a a community bank for Wales as “the first-of-its-kind community bank in the UK”.

In a press release, they said that “the Community Bank for Wales will provide bilingual, everyday banking services for individuals and businesses — accessible through telephone, digital and a network of physical outlets to be located across Wales.”

At the time, the chief of Swansea Building Society raised a number of concerns about the project, not least the lack of transparency with regards to Welsh Labour’s choice of Monmouthshire Building Society and no input from Wales’ other financial institutions.

The aim was for Banc Cambria to have a full customer launch and provide everyday full retail banking services in communities across Wales by 2023.

Banc Cambria, a community banking offer, was originally promised in Welsh Labour’s 2021 election manifesto, but eventually suffered the withdrawal of support from the Newport-headquarter financial institution, who had been developing the scheme on behalf of the Welsh Government.

In July 2023, the then-Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, confirmed in a Written Statement that Monmouthshire Building Society had decided to withdraw from the project.

Mr Gething said: “Our vision remains unchanged – that is for community banking services to develop in Wales, adding value and choice in the financial ecosystem and supporting community wealth building.”

“Welsh Government, therefore, remains open to working constructively with the sector to explore options and opportunities and we will continue to engage actively with Cambria Cydfuddiannol Limited to this end.”

Commenting on the delays and lack of clarity, Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Jane Dodds MS said: “Community banks, like the one I visited earlier this month in Welshpool, offer an alternative to a future where people are cut off from their banks.

“The Welsh Government, to their credit, have recognised this and in 2021 promised in their election manifesto a community banking scheme for Wales.

“However, since making this commitment, very little progress has been made and there are very real concerns about the future of this scheme.

“It’s time for the Welsh Government to shine some light on the matter.”

In response, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are working on the development of a Community Bank. We have often stated that a Community Bank cannot be seen as a singular solution to the challenges arising from the flight of retail banks from our high streets and that we need solutions which engage all key stakeholders so that banking in our communities is sustainable and supports the needs of all users.”

In response, I said: “Well you didn’t do a very good job of that did ya!”

Today

Today’s financial landscape is even bleaker than that of the early 2020s, when the need for a bank for Wales was already urgent.

In 2024, Welsh speaking HSBC account holders were heartbroken following the bank’s decision to axe its Welsh language customer service line.

MP for Arfon, Hywel Williams said: “HSBC has long abandoned its pretence of being the world’s local bank. After closing numerous Welsh branches and disrespecting Welsh speakers for years, it is no wonder that it is losing the confidence of many customers.”

In 2015, the Welsh Language Commissioner published a statutory review of the Welsh language services of high street banks in Wales. The report, now over a decade old, makes for sober reading with evidence of a clear disregard for such simple things as processing a cheque in Welsh.

The Commissioner at the time wrote: “Customers are favouring companies and charities that show respect towards Welsh culture and community, and show an understanding of how to operate in a country where the Welsh language has official status.”

Official status in name only, evidently.

In 2022, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth fought on the ground in his local constituency in a losing battle which echoed across the nation.

In his role as Ynys Môn MS, ap Iorwerth condemned Barclays Bank’s decision to close its Llangefni branch and called for the development of a proposed Welsh community bank scheme to be accelerated.

He said at the time: “As the big banks continue to abandon rural communities, I’ve written to Welsh Government to ask for moves to establish a Banc Cambria network as a new public bank for Wales to be accelerated,” Mr ap Iorwerth added.

“We don’t need a row of banks on each high street as in years gone by, perhaps, but we do need a banking presence in our communities – not everyone can, or wants to do their banking online, and some of the most vulnerable people and businesses still need face to face banking support.”

Today, in a turn of events he’d perhaps never even dared dream of, he’s the one with the power to respond to such letters as his own from 2022.

Beth yw ‘inept’ yn Gymraeg?

A few banks such as Natwest still have a Welsh language telephone line and the Welsh Language Commissioner has put together a rundown of services that are available at other institutions, but it’s all rather tokenistic, and it’s all at the mercy of new boards, staff changes, shareholders and buyouts.

Put simply, we’re entrusting our own ability to bank in Welsh if we wish, to people who might not care quite as much as we do.

Principality Building Society also has a Welsh language telephone service, but that’s little comfort for those who want a current account, as sadly no Welsh building societies currently offer a current account service.

Aside from the language issue, or the presence issue since most of us bank on apps nowadays anyway, we should all be concerned that we are reliant on outside organisations who are, essentially, extracting wealth from us through their products and services. And there’s Llareggub we can (currently) do about it.

It is of national importance that we in Wales are able to conduct our daily lives in our native language, and it is also of national importance that we bank within our nation, for the benefit of our nation.

All Welsh citizens should be able to conduct their lives using Welsh businesses, from the ground up, and a homegrown, home-benefitting bank is a must-have – its absence proving to detractors that Wales just isn’t *quite* capable of standing on its own two feet.

Filing ‘Banc Cambria’ in the bin, and carrying on as if nothing ever happened is a stain on the Labour-led Welsh Government that has been overlooked thanks to the shameful revolving door at 10 Downing Street, not to mention less than savoury events at the Senedd.

With the chaos hopefully confined to the other side of Offa’s Dyke for now, it’s time all parties in the Senedd threw their weight behind a bank led by and for the people of Wales.

Any talk of independence, for a nation that can’t even set up its own bank, would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.

Banc Cymru, anyone?

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