With banks shutting branches across the country, one Labour MP wants to make it more difficult for them to disappear.

Kieran McAnulty has lodged a member's bill which would see the Reserve Bank having to agree with any closures before they can go ahead.

He told Larry Williams it's setting out a code of conduct that banks will have to follow.

"It's just setting an extra requirement."

McAnulty says that they are confident that banks will comply with the code.

"Part of that code will be that if they are proposing to close a branch in an isolated geographical area, they have to comply with a certain level of consultation with that community to ensure that all alternatives are explored before they pull out."

McAnulty says that he was inspired to draft the bill after an ANZ bank left Martinborough in Wairarapa, despite what he calls high GDP growth and tourism spend.

"The feedback from the community was that the bank didn't try and attract customers, they try and look at the alternative services they could provide."

He says that they will not force banks to stay in an area that is not viable for them.

"You won't see any argument from me if it's clear people aren't using that service any more."

LISTEN TO KIERAN MCANULTY TALK WITH LARRY WILLIAMS ABOVE