Reeves says towns risk becoming ‘banking deserts’ as she sticks to hubs target

Sign up to our free money newsletter for investment analysis and expert advice to help you build wealth Sign up to our free money email for help building your wealth Sign up to our free money email for help building your wealth SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Chancellor has said towns are at risk of becoming “banking deserts” as she opened the UK’s 100th banking hub, and declined to commit to a fresh increase to the Government’s target despite calls to pick up the pace. The truth is, we’ve all seen in our areas that banks are closing, and without these banking hubs towns are going to be banking deserts Chancellor Rachel Reeves Ms Reeves said the Government was “on track” to roll out 350 hubs by 2029, with five opened this week and another 80 in the pipeline for next year. “It’s a manifesto commitment and we’re absolutely determined to deliver against it so that more people, more towns, more communities have access to those banking facilities.” Asked whether the Government would be prepared to increase its target to keep up with the pace of bank branch closures, Ms Reeves said the current plans were a “massive ramp-up of the plans that we inherited” from the previous government. Money, said: “It’s vital that the Government holds its commitment to opening 350 hubs in the next few years – and it should be prepared to revise that figure upwards if necessary.” The Chancellor insisted that she “brought an end to instability” caused by the Tory government, despite facing backlash on the decision to increase the rate of employer national insurance next year in the autumn Budget.