It won’t shock you to read that bank branches are closing. They’re expensive to run, and fewer customers are using them. In fact just 11% of the UK population now prefers visiting a branch to carry out their banking business.
But behind these simple facts is a rather grim reality. In the next few years, many consumers will count themselves lucky to live near an old post office branch moonlighting as the last bank standing. This is pretty worrying stuff. And how we’ve got to this point has a dash of Bell Pottinger wizardry about it.
It’s so bizarre that I’ve been forced to scavenge the depths of the English language to find a word to describe it, and have had to borrow a phrase from 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Now, having to turn to Palin’s verbal dexterity can never be a good sign, but it’s time to call this out for what it is: backassward.
And here’s why.
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