Northern small businesses slam RBS branch closures

A recent survey of businesses in the north of Scotland following the announcement of several Royal Bank of Scotland branch closures has revealed that nearly two-thirds of the firms still use their local banks.

The survey was carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) which has now added its voice to growing concern about the number of RBS branches closing across the north and north-east.

The most recently announced closure is the Ballachulish branch, which follows Lybster, Invergordon and Lochinver in the Highlands and Dufftown, Keith and Lossiemouth in Moray.

Alford in Aberdeenshire is also to lose its RBS, as will Stromness in Orkney and Brae and Shetland.

The RBS says that the number of people using the banks has fallen, while online access has risen.

However, the FSB survey found that while 75 per cent of their Highlands and islands members do now bank online, 64 per cent also regularly visit branches for business purposes.

The most common use is for depositing cash, while withdrawing money and meeting staff was also listed highly among reasons for visiting a branch.

More than one third of businesses surveyed described the loss of local facilities as “deeply regretted”.

Amanda Frazer, FSB regional chairwoman for the Highlands and Islands, described the findings as “revealing”.

She said: “The FSB has long called for an end to the slow retreat of public services and banks and post offices f rom our high streets. With over 90% of members stating t hat branch closures would impact negatively on their businesses this surprising.

“Footfall is one measure of how busy a branch is but the type of footfall should also be taken into account. Expecting businesses to make 70-plus mile round trips to their “local” branch, as i s now t he case in Lochinver, is clearly unsustainable.

“We need a commitment from our banks to maintain their networks and, if all else fails, at the very least to provide somewhere for businesses to deposit cash locally at the end of each day’s business. Sending mobile banks around once a week is not the answer for our business community – or for the visitors on which many rely.”