Lansdowne, Ont., laments loss of last bank

The mayor of an eastern Ontario township says the closure of their only financial institution is another "disconcerting" sign that banks are ignoring the needs of rural communities.

Lansdowne, which sitsabout 50 kilometres northeast of Kingston, Ont., has only one bank:a Bank of Montreal branch. But the bank announced it's closing the branchin October and merging it with its branch in Gananoque, Ont., about a 15- to 20-minute drive away.

That was disappointing news to people in the municipality, according to Joseph Baptista, the mayor of the Township of Leeds & Thousand Islands.

Many small businesses in the area work in cash and many seniors prefer to do their banking in person, he said.Though the bank has promised to keep an ATM in Lansdowne, Baptista said it won't be enough.

'Something we're seeing more and more'

"We're very concerned about what it says not only for our municipality, but also what it says for rural Ontario," Baptista told CBC Radio's Ontario Morning on Monday."This is something we're seeing more and more, and it's disconcerting,"Baptistasaid.

Rural communities are particularly vulnerable to bank closures, Baptista said, because the alternative online banking requires a consistent connection to the internet, which can be a problem.

Lansdowne's situation is similar to that of the western Quebec community of Ripon, where the co-operative credit union Desjardins closed the community's only ATMin January.

But the loss of the bank is particularly galling in Lansdowne, Baptistasaid, given the community is actually growing and both the municipality and the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority do their banking there.

"This bank would be very hard pressed to not be very profitable," Baptista said.

The municipal council for Leeds & Thousand Islands is meeting in May to consider their alternatives, including looking into whether BMO can be convinced to stay.

The bank said they will open a new ATM in Lansdownein May, and close the branch for good on Oct. 19, 2018.