CYMDEITHAS yr Iaith - the Welsh Language Society – is calling on the Welsh Government to establish the Bank of Wales to help support rural communities.

The move comes in response to the news that Barclays Bank is to close its Llandysul branch in Wind Street at the end of the year, leaving the town without a high street bank.

The chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith in Carmarthenshire, Bethan Williams, said: "Here we have the last bank in Llandysul announcing that it will close its doors, and the Post Office in the town centre will soon close and move to a supermarket outside Llandysul.

“Fewer people still will go to Llandysul and it will be harder for shops and businesses in the town to remain open without a bank.

“It will be harder for local youngsters to live here, and who wants to live in an area where you have to travel long distances just to do basic things?

“And with Llandysul on the border between Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, this will be a blow to people in both counties.

"The Teifi Valley has been one of the Government’s Local Growth Zones for several years, but what has come of that?

“With more banks across Wales are closing and post offices moving into shops, isn’t it time to discuss a move to establish a Welsh bank and postal service?

“It is becoming increasingly obvious that serving communities is of no real interest to these international banks so we need to postal and banking services operating in the interests of rural Wales.

“How about the Welsh Government stepping up to do something positive for our communities?"

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake has already voiced his opposition to the closure and is writing to Barclays to ask them to reconsider pulling out of the town.