ANOTHER bank shuts its doors - this time the TSB branch in Rishton - and another nail goes in the coffin of the traditional small-town High Street and community.

But while this trend, already mirrored elsewhere in East Lancashire, is directed as much by the hidden hand of customer-choice as it is by the bank bosses trimming overheads, it does not follow that there is no longer a place for banking services outside the larger towns.

For while this development may be fuelled by the boom in round-the-clock telephone banking, there is still a lot of actual cash out there that needs to be processed through a hands-on, over-the-counter banking system. The daily takings of the traders in small towns are just one instance.

They need the security of a nearby bank and they are being inconvenienced and exposed to greater risks when the banks pull out and expect them to travel further and for longer to use their services.

But if commercial pressures are forcing banks to reduce their outlets, do they need to pull out completely - especially when there is still business to be had and to be done?

If the big banks cannot maintain branches in the smaller towns and suburbs, why not let others act as agents for them?

The building societies do and it is obviously worth their while.

So why cannot the TSB and others say yes to that idea of service to the customer and the community?

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.