JEFF PRESTRIDGE: The banks have to do better – hubs rare as hens’ teeth

In theory, banking hubs are a great idea. In practice, they remain as rare as chicken teeth, despite a lot of hot air being blown by those responsible for introducing them to our high streets.

Indeed, if you believed the PR, you would think the country was overrun with hubs. Unfortunately not. Only two are still active. Moral of this story? Never rely on PR.

Sometimes referred to as community banks, these hubs are ‘banks of banks’ – branches run by an independent operator such as the post office, but which customers of all major banking brands can use.

On certain days, customers can even talk to their own bank’s staff about issues that concern them – unusual given the tendency for large banks to transform their own branches into soulless spaces where machines rule.

Hubs are especially useful in communities that have lost all their banks. Unfortunately, bankless communities outside the cities and major cities are becoming the norm rather than the exception as banks relentlessly clear out branches (486 announcements of closures so far this year).

Late last year, we were told that five brand-new hubs would be launched in 2022, in addition to the two operating in Rochford, Essex and Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire.

So far none of these five has seen the light of day. 22 more have been announced, but they have yet to get off the ground.

A few days ago, after another glowing PR announcement about hubs, I asked for a progress report. Of the five hubs launching this year, only one (Brixham, Devon) will be open before Big Ben kicks off in the new year.

A hub in Cottingham, East Yorkshire (not one of the five) should also open its doors next month, with another in Troon, South Ayrshire, in early 2023. A score of one in five would be considered a failure in a school test. I trust the Financial Conduct Authority will tell those involved (the banks) to up their game.

In August of this year, it told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Businesses need to pick up the pace and deliver more banking hubs. We expect this to be a priority.’ Given that not one new hub has opened since it opened, I think it’s time to give the banks an all-powerful dashing gesture.

Nice thinking, John…

Thanks for all the nice comments on my new column. I was particularly tickled by a note from John Pearce, from Milton Keynes, about the sad state of our railroads.

John sent an article from the March 1934 edition of Railway Magazine. It describes how on Friday December 22, 1933, during the day and night, 40 additional trains were laid out at King’s Cross Station in London to cope with the large number of people who wanted to travel north for Christmas.

On December 22, 1933, 40 additional trains were built at London’s King’s Cross Station during the day and night to accommodate the crowds seeking to travel north for Christmas

John says, “Maybe the bosses of today’s railroad companies should read some 89-year-old railroad magazines and see if they can pick up useful tips.”

Absolute. How great would it be to hear ‘Extra train running’ instead of ‘Train canceled due to staff shortage’.

Support in the battle that attacks body and mind

Living with cancer is painful on so many levels. Often the pain is not just physical, but also mental — for example, the worry of waiting for an appointment to see a specialist and not knowing what your cancer is up to.

As someone who has prostate cancer, I dread the regular quarterly check-ups performed by my wonderful advisor Christopher Ogden. Not because of the unpleasant procedures involved, but because of the bad news he might bring. The cancer gnaws at my brain and sometimes causes sleepless nights.

Protection insurer Zurich wants to make people aware of the impact of cancer on people’s lives. To that end, she has sponsored an online photo exhibition worth checking out. Curated by photographer Martin Parr and TV celebrity Merlin Griffiths, both of whom are constantly battling cancer, it features photos taken by people with cancer. There is also a supporting video voiced by Parr. Both are worth checking out: zurich.co.uk/everydaymoments and youtu.be/rEZTGxsLFbw.

Zurich has also made a donation to Maggie’s, a cancer charity, which does an excellent job of supporting and informing cancer patients from centers across the country, usually near hospitals. A friend battling breast cancer vouches for their great advice (maggies.org). Last but not least on the subject of cancer, rest in peace fellow money journalist Martin Baker who died of prostate cancer earlier this month. All too often the good ones die far too young.

New Merc? I prefer my prices of €25!

A friend tells me she’s about to sell much of her holdings in Premium Bonds so she can buy a new set of wheels (her current jalopy just didn’t pass the MOT).

Despite advising her not to be so extravagant (she’s got her eyes on a pre-owned Mercedes Benz C-Class, below, available for £24,000), she’s not up for the run.

I’ll keep buying a few bonds every month in hopes of raking in a big price one day – enough maybe to buy a brand new Merc

While I understand her desire to be mobile in style (she’s an actress after all), NS&I Premium Bonds remain the only bright spot in my savings portfolio. Although my holdings are a fraction of my friend’s – not enough to buy a cheap second-hand Fiat Punto – I still get a buzz when an email arrives from NS&I telling me I’m a winner.

I received one a few days ago as part of the November prize draw – another £25 prize to add to the five others I’ve already received this year for the same amount.

That is, £150 in duty-free prices, compared to the £100 I nicked last year.

I will continue to buy a few bonds each month in hopes of raking in a big price one day. Enough maybe to buy a brand new Merc.

show respect

At 11 today I am somewhere along the Thames Path in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Dressed in shorts and T-shirt, and sweating from head to toe, I will observe two minutes of silence to remember the service and sacrifice of all those who over the years have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life. .

The half marathon that I will participate in is dedicated to Remembrance Day. The event is built around a ‘race freeze’ at 11am, when all runners stop at the sound of a horn to observe a two-minute silence before resuming at the sound of three horns.

We will remember, we will never forget. britishlegion.org.uk.