'Local banking' brought back to Devon as TSB returns to the high street
Welcome Back to Local Banking in Barnstaple, Exeter, Exmouth, Ford, Okehampton, Plymouth, Torquay and Tavistock.
The new TSB Bank which has launched today – with more than 4.6 million customers and over £20 billion of loans and customer deposits – is one of the biggest changes ever seen in UK banking as ‘local banking’ is brought back to Britain. There are ten branches in Devon which will all be welcoming TSB back to the high street.
Never before has a new bank launched with a nationwide network of 631 branches, four call centres, an award-winning internet bank, mobile banking apps and 8,500 staff with a collective service history of over 100,000 years.
There’s lots of launch activity across Devon this week to celebrate the launch of TSB including:
• On Monday 9 September 2013, local branch manager Derek Soloman and his team have invited Olympic swimmer Tonia Couch to open the Plymouth Crownhill branch on Morshead Road at 9:15am.
• In the Plymouth branch on Armada Way, local branch manager Sandra Palmer and the first customer across the threshold are cutting the ribbon on Tuesday 10 September 2013.
• Caroline Paine and Pam Rees, long-serving members of staff, are cutting the ribbon on Tuesday 10 September in the Ford branch.
• On Monday 9 September, branches in Barnstaple, Okehampton and Tavistock are launching.
• Branches in Exeter, Exmouth, Ford (Plymouth) and Torquay (two branches) are opening on Tuesday 10 September 2103 hosting refreshments and cake and a raffle.
The strength, size and scale of TSB is, however, only part of the story. TSB is pioneering a return to ‘local banking’ – a banking model which sees TSB focus solely on supporting economic growth in the communities it serves right across Britain.
TSB is declaring today its commitment to bringing back local banking to Britain and welcomes customers, old and new, who want to see economic growth in Devon. Customers of TSB know that every penny of their savings will only fund mortgages and loans in their area or help a small business to grow. Borrowers at TSB know that the money used to fund their mortgage or small business loan is from savers’ deposits – and from nowhere else.
Paul Pester, TSB’s Chief Executive, says: “TSB bucks the trend in banking. We look forward to bringing local banking back to Devon and serving the local community.
“And let’s not forget where we have come from. The TSB movement was originally created over 200 years ago when the Reverend Henry Duncan established the first Savings Bank in Ruthwell, Scotland. Its sole purpose then was to serve the local people in the community. This is exactly what we’re doing again today as we bring the new TSB Bank back to Devon, and 630 other places in Britain, to fuel local economies – and nothing else.”
The creation of the new TSB Bank by Lloyds Banking Group follows a ruling by the European Commission and the UK Government in November 2009 aimed at bringing more competition to the UK banking market. TSB has been two years in the making.
The C&G branch at 6 High Street, Exeter, will become a TSB branch. However, Lloyds TSB Banks at 234 High Street, Exeter, 13 St Thomas Centre, St Thomas, Exeter, Main Road, Pinhoe, Exeter and 65 Fore Street, Topsham will be Lloyds Bank branches.
