The Welsh government says 30 branches of a new community bank will open across the country within the next decade.
Banc Cambria will work to address the “devastation” of branch closures across Wales, Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt told Senedd members.
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The new community bank will be owned by its members, becoming the first bank of its kind in the UK.
Tory members asked how decisions would be made on where to open branches.
An action group came up with the proposal in 2016 and is developing it with the support of the Welsh government.
First Minister Mark Drakeford pledged to create a community bank for Wales in his successful campaign for the Welsh Labour leadership in 2018.
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By GlobalDataThe bank will be owned by it members, the first of its kind in UK
“It’s going to be a mutual owned by and run for the benefit of its members,” Ms Hutt told the Senedd on Wednesday.
“It will improve access to banking services and access to cash, with multilingual and multi-channel bilingual banking services for people and businesses, and also collaborating with the Welsh financial ecosystem, for example, credit unions.
“No community banks operate in the UK but we will be the first community bank to operate, and Banc Cambria aims to provide everyday retail banking across the whole of Wales.”
Sam Rowlands, a Conservative member of the Senedd (MS) for north Wales, asked how it would be decided which towns and communities would have community banking.
Project will depend on regulatory approval and investment decisions
Ms Hutt said that one of the considerations would be “where it is most appropriate and needed to have a high street bank access point”, with the “rollout and timing” currently under consideration by Banc Cambria.
Plaid Cymru MS Luke Fletcher, who represents South Wales West, said: “With bank closures in our towns and villages across Wales being all too common, the vision presented by the team at Banc Cambria is an exciting one.”
However, Russell George, the Conservative MS for Montgomeryshire, said the question for people in Wales would be about timescales, “and when we’ll see that first physical bank appears in a town”.
Former minister Ken Skates said the community bank will help to tackle financial and digital exclusion.
