The Prif Weinidog has backed the creation of a community bank of Cymru.
Speaking in the Senedd yesterday, Mark Drakeford said: "We are committed to supporting the creation of a community bank for Wales, headquartered here in Wales, owned and run for the benefit of its members as a mutual community financial institution".
The comments was made in response to a question posed by the Welsh Labour MS for Blaenau Gwent Alun Davies.
Mr Davies asked the First Minister if he too agreed that the "priority" of any community bank is to "ensure that people across the whole country have access to financial services in their own communities, and that some of our most deprived communities have banking and financial services available to them with branches back on the high street"
Mr Davies also spoke of having met with Mark Hooper of Banc Cambria in Abertyleri to discuss "the availability of banking facilities in different parts of our communities".
Banc Cambria says that it "aims to provide a full banking service across Wales, but unlike other banks, it will be owned and controlled by its membership, not outside shareholders".
The Welsh Government yesterday restated—in its statement on the programme for government—its commitment to community banking in Cymru.