JEFF PRESTRIDGE: Nationwide is the ‘last’ bank in Windsor – and it’s a sign of things to come

There is resilience in the step of those good people who run the entire country – the largest construction company in the country by a country mile. They’ve just agreed to buy rival Virgin Money – and they’ve put the banks firmly on the back foot for their collective tendency to chop off branches as if they were dead wood.

After recently irritating its banking rivals with a witty TV advert featuring Dominic West as a swaggering, smoothie-drinking, branch-robbing banker, the company has now taken another swipe at the banks.

This time it has placed a sign on a road on the outskirts of Windsor in Berkshire that reads: ‘You are now leaving Windsor. Just like the big banks.’ Below these words it says: ‘Unlike the big banks, we are here to stay.’

Unlike the fictional character it created for its ad, Nationwide is absolutely right about Windsor. This glorious royal city lost its last banks just over six months ago when Barclays and HSBC closed their branches within a day of each other. Other banks – Lloyds, Metro, NatWest and Santander – had long since left the city.

As a result, Nationwide is the last ‘bank’ standing and as part of a pledge made last June, it will not leave Windsor or any other town or city where it has a presence until at least 2026. What has made what looks like a similar pledge for branches is HSBC, which said late last year that it would announce no more closures this year. So far it has kept its word.

I trust Nationwide will soon put up similar signs in towns where it is now the last ‘bank’ standing. According to long-standing community bank campaigner Derek French, Windsor is one of 37 major cities (with a population of over 15,000) where Nationwide is the only ‘bank’ present.

Oddly enough, French says, these 37 cities should all qualify for a banking center (a community bank funded by all the major banking brands). But because Nationwide is still in town, the banks won’t finance them.

Shameful.

As for the Nationwide TV advert that has so irritated the banks, Santander has lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). It says the ad is misleading about bank branch closures – and both denigrates and discredits competitors.

On Friday the ASA told me that its investigation into the complaints surrounding Nationwide’s advertising campaign was ‘ongoing’.

Although the ad is a bit naughty, especially when Mr West mocks a customer who wants to speak to a branch manager about the loss of his savings (‘total yawn fest’), I trust the ASA will decide that Nationwide has no reason needs an answer.

Why? Firstly, Nationwide is right to mock the banks for closing branches. Since ATM network Link began compiling a list of closure notices in early February 2022, 1,325 branches have closed or been told they will close soon.

Of these, only 22 are nationwide (all before the June 2023 pledge). Although Santander only announced six closures in the same period, it closed 111 in 2021.

Second, isn’t it great to watch a financial ad that for once makes you laugh instead of yawn out loud? I’d rather watch Dominic West’s pompous banker any day over horses (admittedly beautiful to watch) galloping through the Sussex countryside in an attempt to convince us that Lloyds will always be by our side.

A branch that suits the bard…

Like many of you, I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to bank branches – former and existing.

I am often amazed by their architectural splendor and their imposing presence in the shopping streets.

Such was the case eight days ago when I spent a pleasant afternoon poking around Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, visiting the house where William Shakespeare was raised and the nearby church (Holy Trinity) where he is buried.

As I wandered the streets I was struck by the presence of all the major banks in the city: Barclays, NatWest (located in a building that looked quite out of place with the rest of the city), Lloyds and Santander.

Good for Stratford, I say. May they stay open for a long time.

But it was the imposing HSBC branch that took my breath away: a huge Victorian Gothic building constructed of red brick and terracotta.

I haven’t seen such a striking branch in a while – and it will remain open (until at least the end of this year, hopefully even longer).

The branch’s roots date back to 1810, when the Stratford Old Bank was founded by three local businessmen.

The company issued its own banknotes, decorated with an image of the bard’s head.

The words “Old Bank” still hang above the front door to this day, with a mosaic of the Bard below.

The branch eventually became part of Midland (the predecessor to HSBC) in 1914 and is still on the schedule of many Shakespeare walking tours that take place daily in the city.

The branch is a Grade II listed building and to HSBC’s credit it has retained its integrity even when it underwent renovation four years ago.

• Is there a bank branch that strikes an architectural chord with you? If so, please email me at jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk.

Window on chaos in Brum…

It was wonderful to spend some time and reacquaint myself in Birmingham, the city where I grew up, after my mother’s funeral ten days ago.

Highlights of the day included a visit to Birmingham Cathedral, which I have walked past at least 200 times without ever going inside.

It was a joyful experience to stand and marvel at the four exquisite stained glass windows designed by Pre-Raphaelite artist (and Brummie) Edward Burne-Jones. They are enchanting.

I also enjoyed the Victorian Radicals exhibition at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which featured more of Burne-Jones’ sublime work (paintings rather than stained glass).

The exhibition runs until the end of October and is well worth every penny of the £11 entry fee.

Birmingham has made progress since I left for academia and eventually the bright lights of London at the age of 18.

It is therefore distressing to hear that Labour-led Birmingham City Council has found itself in a dire financial situation, which will result in almost double-digit council tax cuts next month – and huge cuts.

Nothing will be spared: adult social care, children’s services, support for the arts and local libraries.

What a great shame. The Labor Council’s mismanagement, sustained by government cuts, is now threatening the fabric of the city.

A harbinger of the future under a Labor government that spends freely and imposes high taxes? Time will tell.