Nationwide has come under fire for its decision to close allseven of its branches in south-east London. Britain's biggestbuilding society will close branches in Blackheath, Greenwich,Woolwich, Lewisham, Catford, Peckham and Elephant & Castle by theend of May.
The Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, Nick Raynsford,condemned Nationwide's decision, saying the building society was"indifferent to the concerns of its customers across such a largepart of our capital city, an area with a population of almost670,000". He added: "The idea of there being no Nationwide branch inthe whole of Manchester seems absurd, yet Nationwide is denying itsbranch services to an area with a population much greater thanManchester and Sheffield."
A Nationwide spokesman said the decision was a difficult one butthe branches were "economically unsustainable". The spokesman addedthat there were still 700 branches and telephone and internetbanking service are available. Nevertheless, Nationwide's shock movewas debated in Westminster Hall last week, with the backing of south-east London MPs Heidi Alexander and Joan Ruddock.
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