RBS prunes another 54 branches from its network of high street banks
Royal Bank of Scotland is to close another 54 branches, expecting to make 259 people redundant.
The closures, which will take place in January, come after the announced closure of 162 branches, resulting in an expected 792 redundancies.
They are a consequence of RBS deciding against spinning off two banks as a challenger bank operating under the name Williams & Glyn.
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RBS in England Wales, and Natwest’s Scotland arms, were to be divested, but that decision’s reversal has left RBS with too many banks in close proximity to each other, it claimed.
“As a result we have reviewed our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and have made the difficult decision to close 54 Royal Bank of Scotland branches,” an RBS spokesperson said.
“We will now focus on investing in our Royal Bank network in England and Wales to make sure customers have a consistent range of products and services wherever they bank, be it Scotland, England or Wales.”
Customers affected by the closures can use Natwest and local post offices for everyday banking, RBS said.
It has promised to keep redundancies to “an absolute minimum”.
However, Unite claimed the closures would leave RBS with just 51 branches across the UK.
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“The disabled, elderly and many local businesses will today be deeply disappointed that their bank has chosen to withdraw from their community and no longer provide them with the access to banking services which we all deserve,” said national officer Rob MacGregor,m whose union represents staff at affected banks.
He added that when RBS announced the previous closures, it had pointed to nearby available branches, some of which it today decided to close.