Post Office bank plan unveiled
Author: Local Government Chronicle |
Extra funding of 180m has been pledged for a “major expansion” of financial services offered by the Post Office
The new money is on top of 1.7bn currently being invested in the 11,500 branches, with the aim of making them more sustainable.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “The Post Office is a well-loved community institution and this move will bring more banking services back to the heart of those communities.”
He said it was part of the government’s “reinvention” of the financial services industry: “Today is the next step in that process.”
Lord Mandelson said the new measures, including new accounts and business services, had previously been likened to creating a Post Office Bank.
A coalition of groups including the Communication Workers Union, Federation of Small Businesses and National Pensioners Convention had been pressing ministers to support a Post Office Bank.
Ministers said the measures marked a “step change” in banking at the Post Office and demonstrated the Government’s ongoing commitment to the Post Office network.