The UK's financial watchdog has mandated that fourteen of the country's largest banks, including HSBC, Barclays, and NatWest, ensure local communities maintain access to cash amid a wave of branch closures. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced new rules to protect consumers' and small businesses' physical access to cash services, such as ATMs and bank branches. This move comes as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that four major high street banks, HSBC, Lloyds, TSB, and Allied Irish Bank (AIB), breached retail competition rules. HSBC and Lloyds have agreed to take action to prevent future breaches. The FCA's new rules come in response to the closure of 6,000 sites, with the CMA's findings highlighting breaches of Part 7 and Part 2 of the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017.