Local Santander customers have been told that their Cardigan branch is to close.

The company has served notice on 139 agencies, retail outlets not owned by Santander, including Cardigan, which provided limited banking services under license and Santander’s branding.

Customers will now have to travel to Carmarthen to visit their nearest branch, or its use online services.

Local customer Gwylon Phillips has contacted his AM and MP about the situation.

He said: “Customers of the Santander agency in Cardigan were informed last week that the agency will close in the near future.

“This news came as a bolt from the blue to the Cardigan agency as well as its customers.

“The Cardigan agency has thousands of customers as well as a number of staff who face possible redundancy.

“This is not the first agency or branch to close in Cardigan. We lose both convenience and the outstanding personal service which the Cardigan agency offers.”

Santander says it has decided to consolidate its retail operations into its proprietary branches, following a strategic review of its retail network, and will work with agency owners to ensure a smooth exit from the agreement.

Steve Pateman – Head of UK Banking at Santander said: “Santander has come a long way from when it was a collection of three building societies. With a simplified and enhanced product range, we are offering our customers great value every day, and with enhancements in mobile banking, internet capability and the improvements we have made to our proprietary branches, we have a distribution capability that allows our customers to bank with us, in the way they want, when they want.

“Part of enabling customers to choose how they deal with us, is making sure that all of our retail branches offer full banking. Consolidating our operations is a vital next step for Santander, allowing us to concentrate on further enhancements and investment in, our proprietary branch network, including branch openings and refurbishments.”