SCHREIBER — While municipal leaders in Schreiber and Terrace Bay ponder the impact of the planned closure of the only bank serving the two communities, the MPP for the area says the Bank of Montreal should be pressured to reconsider its decision.
When BMO revealed this week that it will shut down the Schreiber branch on July 25, Mayor Kevin Mullins called the announcement "devastating."
Clients who prefer in-person transactions to online banking will have to go either to a BMO branch in Thunder Bay, or set up accounts with other banks in Nipigon or Marathon.
For individuals who may not be able to bank using a computer or phone, "looking after one's financial affairs just became much more difficult, if not impossible," said Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois.
"This means people will have to travel 100 to 200 kilometres to access a physical bank."
Vaugeois also noted Schreiber's own municipal office makes deposits or gets change from the BMO branch three times a week.
"Now they will have to pay someone for their time and mileage to conduct their banking needs in Thunder Bay."
According to the NDP MPP, in the early part of the last century, the Bank of Montreal – in partnership with the CPR – set up branches at every town along the railway.
She said if the closure goes ahead, it will mark the end of an era and initiate a significant level of hardship for impacted communities.
But Vaugeois believes the decision will be vigorously appealed, and said she will support that.
"When you push people to suddenly start using online banking, we know how much each one of us is inundated with fraudulent messages on our phones, on email, and so on. That really increases pressure, I think, on new users of those systems. So I hate to see seniors being given no alternative but to go online to do their banking."
BMO has not disclosed how many clients it serves in the Schreiber/Terrace Bay area.
In a statement Tuesday to Newswatch, it said only that it continually assesses its branch network "to adapt to changing consumer preferences for service delivery."
Vaugeois said she understands that companies make decisions in the interest of their business, but she also knows they are making "enormous" profits from their customers.
"Obviously, banks exist to make profits. They don't actually exist to serve. Serving people is kind of a byproduct, but I think we really do need to insist that they do serve the public."
She speculated that perhaps the bank could open one day a week, while acknowledging the cost of ongoing maintenance such as heating could pose a challenge.
Vaugeois said she wants BMO to come up with a solution "that respects the people who do use the branch."
She also noted the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada requires banks to follow a set of rules when closing any branch
"What it says is that you can file an appeal if the Bank of Montreal has not adequately consulted the affected community to ascertain its views about the branch closure."
On its website, the FCAC says its commissioner may hold a meeting about a proposed closure if:
- someone locally affected by the closure writes to FCAC asking for such a meeting
- the bank failed to properly consult the community about the closure
- the request isn't “frivolous” or “vexatious”. This means the request is serious and not made only to cause trouble for the bank
BMO has said it is sending its regional vice-president to Schreiber on Feb. 12 for an informal drop-in session with clients.
The member of parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North, Patty Hajdu, issued a brief statement Wednesday, saying “Banking services are an essential need in any community. This trend of banks closing branches in rural communities deeply affects many members who rely on in person services."
