Government and banks agree that for municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants in financial exclusion, liquidity withdrawal points will be installed and rural postmen strengthened
More than seven months have passed since the banking associations and the government signed a new protocol to prevent financial exclusion, especially of the elderly and in rural areas. Since February 21, there have been some improvements in business hours or telephone service for these groups, as well as the reinforcement of financial agents, offices or the post office to offer services in certain areas.
However, the unstoppable process of digitization of the sector continues to leave a gap that is too large for many citizens who do not even have access to the service of an ATM in their municipality.
Against this background, the First Vice-President and Minister of the Economy, Nadia Calviño, met this Friday with the main employers’ organizations and financial associations, as well as a representative of the Bank of Spain, to propose the strengthening of inclusion in rural areas. to grab . At the moment, the minister has announced the signing of an agreement to ensure the provision of banking services in one hundred percent of the territory.
In Spain, there are more than 660,000 citizens who in some 3,200 municipalities do not have any form of access to financial services such as an ATM.
In particular, in municipalities with more than 500 inhabitants without financial services, entities have a period of six months to set up at least one personal customer service point (financial agents, ATMs, branches, etc.). The council calculates that this would affect 211,000 people from about 250 municipalities.
“In the event that no action is taken after these six months, the sector commits to install ‘generic ATMs’ with a maximum additional period of another six months,” the minister clarified.
For municipalities with fewer than 500 inhabitants without facilities (nearly 3,000) there is the possibility to cover financial needs through rural postmen, but also to create alternatives, such as providing liquidity through non-financial institutions such as shops, petrol, etc. .
In order to guarantee the signed commitment and to adjust the roadmap, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will commission an independent expert to monitor the agreed roadmap. Likewise, there will be an annual report on financial exclusion in rural areas, which the Bank of Spain plans to present before the end of the year.
“It is in the interest of the financial entities themselves to reach the whole territory and be part of the solution,” the minister said during a brief appearance for the media. “Entities must lend a hand,” he urged, remembering that the entire plan will also be implemented with the public participation of city governments, who could also give up properties to develop new financial institutions.
On the other hand, the entities that intend to close the only possible access point in these municipalities undertake to inform their customers at least 4 months in advance, unless this is impossible.
Although the trickle of branches has been constant in recent years with the restructuring of banks, Calviño recalls that Spain is still the third country in Europe with the largest number of personal service points. However, the figures show the risk of exclusion that many populations suffer from. According to the latest statistics from the Bank of Spain, national entities had 46,530 ATMs spread across the entire national geography at the end of the second quarter, 3,971 fewer than at the end of 2019, just before the outbreak of the health crisis.
The figure is also the lowest since the previous minimum in 2000, when the number of ATMs barely passed 44,800. And it also represents a sharp drop of almost 25% from the maximum peak reached in 2008, when citizens gained access to 61,714 ATMs. In other words, a total of 15,184 ATMs have disappeared since the last financial crisis.
The Minister also announced that, in parallel with this initiative, the Ministry is continuing to implement the Independent Authority for the Defense of Financial Clients, with the aim of ensuring that this figure, which has been debated since the beginning of the year, is in the first enter into force in the middle of 2023, although everything depends on parliamentary agility.
In addition to financial exclusion, the government has also been working with banks for weeks in light of the serious problem that the escalation of the Euribor is causing for many mortgage holders as a result of rising interest rates. The minister defended that currently the Mortgage Act (which facilitates the transition from variable to fixed mortgage) and all existing mechanisms (suspension of payment, renegotiation with entities, date of payment, etc.), already protect those potentially affected. It recognizes, however, that the current situation may have changed the profile of vulnerable families and therefore seeks alternative support measures that would in any case not come in the form of direct aid to families.
“Currently there is a very low delinquency rate and we have a broad mechanism to provide assistance,” they say from the sector.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
