Almost 800 jobs to go as RBS reintegrates branches slated for abandoned Williams & Glyn divestment

The divestment and creation of a challenger bank had been ordered under state aid rules handed down by the EU as a result of the Edinburgh-based bank’s record £45 billion taxpayer bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

RBS has since reached an alternative agreement with EU competition officials to satisfy the state aid penalty through the creation of a £425 millon Capability & Innovation Fund comprising of 15 grants that eligible challenger banks and other financial services providers could compete for to increase their business banking capabilities.

A separate £350 million fund will also be made available to “incentivise” SMEs to switch their accounts from the business previously described as W&G to eligible challengers.

Although remaining part of the RBS Group for the past decade, the network slated for the now abandoned Williams & Glyn business operated with a different strategy and with different choices for customers.

RBS has run the retail banking business in England & Wales earmarked for the EU-prescribed sell-off as a standalone bank for around eight years and its status as a ‘business-for-sale’ meant that it diverged in a number ways from the customer offering, products, services, branch automation and online banking capabilities of the core bank.

Announcing the consequences of abandonment of the Williams & Glyn divestment today, RBS said the vast majority of branches set for the project across England & Wales are consequently in close proximity to either another RBS in England & Wales branch or a NatWest branch.

The still 72 per cent state-owned lender said therefore, that following a review of its branch network in England and Wales, a decision has been taken to close 162 RBS branches south of the border while no changes will be made to the NatWest retail banking business in Scotland.

As a result of the consolidation process, RBS said around 792 roles will be made redundant, with efforts being prepared to offer packages the will induce workers to “leave on a voluntary basis”.

An RBS spokesperson said: “We are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank, and we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other; NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, in England & Wales. As a result we have had to review our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and we’ve made the difficult decision to close a number of Royal Bank of Scotland branches. Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland in England & Wales will be able to use NatWest branches instead for their everyday banking needs.

“Furthermore, the way customers bank with us has changed radically over the last few years. Since 2014, branch transactions across Royal Bank of Scotland in England & Wales are down 30 per cent. During this same period, there has been a 53 per cent increase in the number of customers using mobile banking and mobile transactions have increased by 74 per cent. We now provide our customers with more ways to bank with us than ever before – customers can choose from a range of digital, face-to-face and local options to suit their needs.

They added: “We realise this is difficult news for our colleagues and we are doing everything we can to support those affected. We will ensure compulsory redundancies are kept to an absolute minimum.

“We are committed to ensuring our customers and communities are able to continue accessing quality banking services. We are writing to customers of affected branches to highlight the alternative ways to bank in their area. We have developed technology which means that customers of Royal Bank of Scotland can now use NatWest branches for their everyday banking, such as withdrawing cash, checking balances or paying in (and vice versa). Additionally, personal and business customers will be able to access a range of services at either a Royal Bank of Scotland or NatWest branch, including payments, international services, account detail changes and mandates. In order to support our Royal Bank of Scotland customers with these services and their banking needs, we will dedicate members of staff to nearby NatWest branches to offer assistance.

“We know that not all of our customers are comfortable or familiar with using online or mobile banking, so we have created a new specialist taskforce of TechXperts who will be dedicated to supporting our customers with training and support with digital skills.”