David Mundell MP said: “This is very encouraging news and I am glad that the TSB has been willing to listen to the representations made by myself and others over the future of the bank.
“The savings bank museum is a vital part of the heritage of Dumfriesshire, but is also very significant in the history of the global savings bank movement as a whole.
"I believe it is a visitor attraction with untapped potential and transferring it to community ownership would be a positive step towards securing the building's future and also possibly telling the remarkable story of the Rev. Henry Duncan to a wider audience."