English: There is a growing concern about the number and the rate of bank closures in Wales, as earlier mentioned. It is a worrying fact that Wales lost more than 40 per cent of its banking branches in five years. Wales is on the top table of bank closures in the United Kingdom; not less than 239 branches closed between January 2015 and August 2019. There are only two branches in Newport East, where I come from, where my office is, and people actually have a really hard time there when they draw money or they put money in, especially senior citizens. Some parts of Wales have fared much worse, losing 85 per cent of their banks since 2015. This alarming rate of closures risks shutting many people out of vital financial services and affects their ability to access their own cash. The decline in the number of free-to-use cash machines has meant more people being forced to use free banking cash points to withdraw their own money. Between January 2018 and May 2019, the number of free-to-use cash machines in Wales fell by nearly 11 per cent. The consumer group Which? said its analysis showed that the poorer communities were hit hardest by closures than the more affluent ones - people living in poorer communities, those most reliant on cash, they can least afford to pay for withdrawals, but face being forced to travel to access money without charge. Pensioners are particularly badly affected by bank closures. Wales has the highest proportion of older people in the United Kingdom, with a fifth of the population aged 65 or over. Whilst many people are used to managing their money online and paying for goods with plastic cards, older people are used to more traditional methods of paying for goods and services by cheques or cards. Less than half of the people aged 75 or over in Wales were internet users in 2018 and 2019, thus accelerating closures of bank branches and free-to-use cash point transactions to deprive our senior citizens of banking services and access to the cash, that, in fact, is their own. It is clear, therefore, that bank closures have a profound economic and social impact on communities in Wales. The communities recognise that the bank is a reserved matter, but the Welsh Government does have some policy levers it can utilise in conjunction with using its influence with regulators and the UK Government to bring about the change. This report makes 14 recommendations to try to bring about the change we wish to see. I am pleased that the Welsh Government has accepted 12 of those recommendations, some in full, others in principle or in part. One aspect of this matter where the Welsh Government does have the power to make a difference is community banking that was just earlier mentioned. Last January, the finance Minister stated that very early-stage discussions were taking place with a number of stakeholders who were keen to explore the feasibility of establishing a community bank in Wales. In August, the Minister for Economy and Transport approved the proposal to provide initial-phase funding to support this proposal. The Welsh Government must ensure due diligence is applied to this process to ensure that this untested community savings bank model meets the need for face-to-face banking services in Wales. It is essential, Deputy Presiding Officer, also, that this proposal should not have an adverse impact on the credit unions. Access to banking is a complex subject area, combining social and economic issues that this report has only begun to address. The bank not only gives a service to the public like a school, college and hospital, a bank is actually a community service that is needed for lending, deposit, transfer and other different areas - mortgages. And, if they are not close by, people have to go too far to get those services, which is definitely a burden on certain people. Time, money and energy is wasted on those sorts of services, which is totally unacceptable. Access to banking is a complex subject area, combining social and economic issues, which this report has only begun to address. However, I believe this is an important contribution to the process of reversing the decline in banking services in Wales, and I commend it to the Assembly. Thank you very much.
Welsh: Ceir pryder cynyddol am nifer y banciau sy'n cau yng Nghymru ynghyd â pha mor gyflym y maent yn cau, fel y crybwyllwyd yn gynharach. Mae'n peri pryder fod Cymru wedi colli dros 40 y cant o'i changhennau bancio mewn pum mlynedd. Mae Cymru ar y brig o ran cau banciau yn y Deyrnas Unedig; dim llai na 239 o ganghennau wedi'u cau rhwng Ionawr 2015 ac Awst 2019. Dwy gangen yn unig sydd yn Nwyrain Casnewydd, o lle rwy'n dod, lle mae fy swyddfa, ac mae pobl yn cael amser caled iawn pan fyddant angen codi arian neu dalu arian i mewn, yn enwedig dinasyddion hŷn. Mae rhai rhannau o Gymru wedi dioddef yn llawer gwaeth, gan golli 85 y cant o'u banciau ers 2015. Mae'r gyfradd frawychus hon o gau banciau'n peri'r risg o gau llawer o bobl allan o wasanaethau ariannol hanfodol ac mae'n effeithio ar eu gallu i godi eu harian eu hunain. Mae'r gostyngiad yn nifer y peiriannau arian parod am ddim wedi golygu bod mwy o bobl yn cael eu gorfodi i ddefnyddio peiriannau arian bancio am ddim i godi eu harian eu hunain. Rhwng Ionawr 2018 a Mai 2019, gostyngodd nifer y peiriannau arian am ddim yng Nghymru bron i 11 y cant. Dywedodd y grŵp defnyddwyr Which? fod ei ddadansoddiad yn dangos bod cymunedau tlotach wedi cael eu taro'n galetach gan fanciau'n cau na'r rhai mwy cefnog - pobl sy'n byw mewn cymunedau tlotach, y rheini sy'n dibynnu fwyaf ar arian parod, yw'r rhai sy'n lleiaf tebygol o allu fforddio talu am godi arian, ond maent yn wynebu gorfod teithio i godi arian parod heb orfod talu am wneud hynny. Mae cau banciau'n effeithio'n arbennig o ddrwg ar bensiynwyr. Cymru sydd â'r gyfran uchaf o bobl hŷn yn y Deyrnas Unedig, gydag un rhan o bump o'r boblogaeth yn 65 oed neu'n hŷn. Er bod llawer o bobl yn gyfarwydd â rheoli eu harian ar-lein a thalu am nwyddau â chardiau plastig, mae pobl hŷn wedi arfer â dulliau mwy traddodiadol o dalu am nwyddau a gwasanaethau drwy ddefnyddio sieciau neu gardiau. Roedd llai na hanner y bobl 75 oed neu hŷn yng Nghymru yn defnyddio'r rhyngrwyd yn 2018 a 2019, gan gyflymu'r broses o gau canghennau banc a pheiriannau arian parod am ddim i amddifadu ein dinasyddion hŷn o wasanaethau bancio a mynediad at arian parod, sef eu harian parod hwy eu hunain mewn gwirionedd. Mae'n amlwg, felly, fod cau banciau'n cael effaith economaidd a chymdeithasol ddofn ar gymunedau yng Nghymru. Mae'r cymunedau'n cydnabod bod banciau'n fater a gadwyd yn ôl, ond mae gan Lywodraeth Cymru rai ysgogiadau polisi y gall eu defnyddio ar y cyd â defnyddio'i dylanwad gyda rheoleiddwyr a Llywodraeth y DU i sicrhau'r newid. Mae'r adroddiad hwn yn gwneud 14 o argymhellion i geisio sicrhau'r newid rydym eisiau ei weld. Rwy'n falch fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi derbyn 12 o'r argymhellion hynny, rhai'n llawn, eraill mewn egwyddor neu'n rhannol. Un agwedd ar y mater hwn lle mae gan Lywodraeth Cymru bŵer i wneud gwahaniaeth yw bancio cymunedol, fel y crybwyllwyd yn gynharach. Fis Ionawr diwethaf, dywedodd y Gweinidog Cyllid fod trafodaethau cynnar iawn yn cael eu cynnal gyda nifer o randdeiliaid a oedd yn awyddus i ymchwilio i ddichonoldeb sefydlu banc cymunedol yng Nghymru. Ym mis Awst, cymeradwyodd Gweinidog yr Economi a Thrafnidiaeth y cynnig i ddarparu cyllid cyfnod cychwynnol i gefnogi'r cynnig hwn. Mae'n rhaid i Lywodraeth Cymru sicrhau diwydrwydd dyladwy yn y broses er mwyn sicrhau bod y model banc cynilion cymunedol hwn, nad yw wedi cael ei brofi, yn bodloni'r angen am wasanaethau bancio wyneb yn wyneb yng Nghymru. Mae hefyd yn hanfodol, Ddirprwy Lywydd, nad yw'r cynnig hwn yn effeithio'n andwyol ar yr undebau credyd. Mae mynediad at fancio yn faes cymhleth sy'n cyfuno materion cymdeithasol ac economaidd nad yw'r adroddiad hwn ond megis dechrau mynd i'r afael â hwy. Nid yn unig y mae banciau'n darparu gwasanaeth i'r cyhoedd fel ysgolion, colegau neu ysbytai, mewn gwirionedd mae banc yn wasanaeth cymunedol sy'n angenrheidiol ar gyfer talu arian i mewn, benthyca, trosglwyddo a gwahanol feysydd eraill - morgeisiau. Ac os nad ydynt o fewn cyrraedd, mae'n rhaid i bobl fynd yn rhy bell i gael mynediad at y gwasanaethau hynny, sy'n sicr yn faich ar rai pobl. Mae amser, arian ac egni'n cael ei wastraffu ar y mathau hynny o wasanaethau, ac mae hynny'n gwbl annerbyniol. Mae mynediad at fancio yn faes cymhleth sy'n cyfuno materion cymdeithasol ac economaidd nad yw'r adroddiad hwn ond megis dechrau mynd i'r afael â hwy. Fodd bynnag, credaf fod hwn yn gyfraniad pwysig i'r broses o wrthdroi'r dirywiad mewn gwasanaethau bancio yng Nghymru, ac fe'i cymeradwyaf i'r Cynulliad. Diolch yn fawr iawn.