A Joint Statement…

Letter Published in the “Guardian” 22 May 2010

You report “Bafflement over Post Office bank plans since one exists already” (21 May). What the Post Office has is a set of financial services which are popular and growing, but do not constitute a full bank – what we at the Post Bank Coalition have been campaigning for. The Post Office does not offer a full current or business account. Its financial services are not universally available. And because the Bank of Ireland provides most of the financial services, 50% of the profit of any transaction leaves the country. Further, the Bank of Ireland has its own difficulties which mean that the innovative expansion of financial services appears to be beyond it. The Post Office needs new revenue, more customers and a sustainable business plan. That’s why there is such wide support for a wholly publicly owned Post Bank which can sustain our post office network. Post Banks are a modern concept – New Zealand, France and Italy, among others, use and profit from them. We should have one too.

Andy Furey Communication Workers Union 

Robert Gray Countryside Alliance

Clive Davenport Federation of Small Businesses

Lindsay Mackie Nef

Dot Gibson National Pensioners Convention

Paul Reuter Unite