Iznate, Totalán, Alfarnate and El Borge, which together have around 3,500 inhabitants, are facing the closure of Cajamar offices and the reduction of services to mobile units. The town halls warn of financial exclusion for the elderly and traders.
The municipalities of Iznate, Totalán, Alfarnate, and El Borge, which collectively have around 3,500 inhabitants, have reported the loss of in-person banking services following the reorganisation of Cajamar in the Axarquía region. According to Diario Sur, the councils warn that the measure exacerbates financial exclusion for elderly people, traders, and residents without their own vehicles.
In Iznate, the entity has closed the office on Calle Pilar. The Town Hall claims that the provincial management informed them months ago of an "irreversible" business decision affecting other branches in the region. After several meetings and municipal opposition, the alternative will be a mobile unit with an ATM and in-person service that will operate every Thursday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Puerta de la Martina, opposite the park. The council admits that the conditions will be worse than those of the former office in terms of comfort and privacy.
"This is not the solution we wanted," officials from the Alfarnate Town Hall state.
The municipal government of Iznate describes the alternative as a "lesser evil" and firmly rejects commercial decisions that, in their view, contribute to "dismantling the rural environment." The mobile unit will only provide service for six hours a week.
In El Borge, the situation is different: the municipality no longer has a permanent ATM, and the Town Hall considers the mobile unit proposed by Cajamar to be insufficient. The council offered a free municipal space and even expressed willingness to cover the rent to maintain the ATM. In the absence of an agreement, they have opened other avenues: they have proposed to Unicaja that the worker who serves in nearby Almáchar three days a week move to El Borge afterwards, and they are seeking independent ATM companies to which they offer a location at no cost.
Alfarnate has also seen Cajamar end the correspondent service it provided in the municipality. The Town Hall attempted to negotiate the installation of a permanent ATM, but no agreement was reached. As an alternative, the mobile office will remain in Plaza de Andalucía, next to the health centre, from Friday afternoons to Monday afternoons, with in-person service on Mondays from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM.
In Totalán, the branch closed on September 25, and since October 1, it has had a mobile office on Thursdays from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM in Plaza Antonio Molina. In Comares, however, the agreement reached allows for the retention of a 24-hour operational ATM and limited in-person service starting in October.
Financial exclusion has been a concern for administrations for years. In 2023, the Junta estimated that 43,636 inhabitants from 27 municipalities in Málaga could benefit from the 'ATMs for Villages' programme, designed alongside the provincial councils. The regulatory bases consider municipalities at risk of financial exclusion to be those with populations of more than 500 inhabitants that do not have publicly open bank offices or ATMs.
The two affected town halls are governed by the PSOE with an absolute majority. In the 2023 municipal elections, the socialists obtained four out of seven councillors in both Iznate and El Borge, with 54.35% and 60.73% of the votes, respectively.
El Borge continues negotiations to secure a fixed device. "Our goal remains the same as from the beginning: to ensure that El Borge has a permanent ATM again," officials from the council affirm.
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