North Kawartha is working to find a new financial institution for Apsley.
This comes as the community’s Royal Bank of Canada branch has officially closed its doors as of today. North Kawartha Councillor Carolyn Amyotte says, in light of the closure, the township has put together a business proposal to encourage a new financial institution to move into the community.
Amyotte says she believes any financial institution that chooses to invest in North Kawartha will be very successful. The proposal is being pitched across the country. You can read it by clicking here.
Amyotte says the township is also working with RBC to help residents cope with the closure.
While she is glad RBC has committed to keeping an ATM machine in the community, she says it isn’t enough to meet the needs of residents and businesses.
RBC announced it would be closing its Apsley branch in October, saying the move is to efficiently serve the community in the future as more clients are switching to online banking and other technology. Current accounts will automatically be transferred to the Lakefield branch, which is about 45 kilometres away. Amyotte says there is a lot of concern about the decision because this has been the community’s only bank for nearly 60 years. She says RBC members will now have to travel more-than-an-hour one way to get their banking done, instead of having access to in-person help close to home.