“In the UK 2,961 branches of all banks have been closed since 2015” Which? Report

A leading trade union has criticised the Royal Bank of Scotland for going ahead with the closure of 60 RBS Branches across Scotland. Two rural branches in Scotland ear marked for closure have had a stay of execution.

Lyn Turner, regional officer for Unite the union,  said:

 “This is obviously good news for RBS customers and communities in Castle Bay and Biggar.

“However, the Johnston Carmichael review was entirely predictable and nothing but a rubber-stamp of RBS management decisions.

“Sixty communities out of an original sixty-two earmarked for closure will now be marginalised by this so-called review.

“Unite will now request to meet RBS urgently to discuss the impact from today’s announcement on our members”. “

Which? reports that in the UK 2,961 branches of all banks have been closed since 2015. The figure, however, may be larger as Barclays did not share their closure details with the consumer magazine.

The North West of England has been the hardest hit followed by Scotland and the South East. Edinburgh has the highest number of branch closures (50), followed by Cornwall (46) and Glasgow (38).  Highland also figures quite high with 25. You can read the full report by Which? here: Bank branch closures: is your local bank closing?

Rural areas across Scotland are particularly badly affected when their local branch closes as it may be a considerable distance to get to another one. Although online banking is used there are many people who still like to visit an actual bank.

For those running a small business making deposits or just acquiring change, having a bank within a reasonable distance is crucial. Many rural areas are also poorly served by public transport resulting in people having to use private transport to access a ‘local’ bank.

Turriff Royal Bank of Scotland closed on 26th of June 2018

Reporter: Fiona Grahame