NALC presses UK Finance to improve banking services for local councils

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has pressed the trade association for banks (UK Finance) and its member banks to improve their services to local councils.

Representatives from NALC, the Lincolnshire and Norfolk associations of local councils met with UK Finance recently to make the case, following a groundswell of recent complaints from local councils to NALC of poor banking services across England. The types of complaint raised to NALC have been continuous change requests to bank mandates, long waits and unresolved problems with telephone banking, and banks asking for all councillors on a council to become bank mandate signatories.

Following an extensive survey of its member councils on this issue by the Oxfordshire Association of Local Councils, NALC drafted and submitted a headline report on this matter to UK Finance. UK Finance has kindly referred the matter to their member banks.

Within the last couple of weeks, the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire associations of local councils have also sent NALC extensive survey summary results for their own bank's survey. NALC will summarise those results in a further report for UK Finance in early May and will request an update meeting with UK Finance at that point.