RBS announces partial climb down over branch closures

Royal Bank of Scotland has bowed to pressure and said it will now keep open – at least until the end of the year – 10 of the 62 branches it has marked for closure, but warned customers they must use them, or risk losing them for good.

The branches given a stay of execution are Biggar, Beauly, Castlebay on Barra, Comrie, Douglas in South Lanarkshire, Gretna, Inveraray, Melrose, Kyle of Lochalsh and Tongue.

However, all of the reprieved branches may still go after the still 73 per cent state-owned, bailed-out bank stressed that the use of the branches would be reviewed by independent research from now until the end of the year.

RBS said that if, at the end of the year, it finds greater usage of a branch, its future will be subject of a further review.

There is no change in the planned fate of the other fifty-two branches across Scotland that still face the threat of closure.

Edinburgh-based RBS said the vast majority of the reprieved branches were in communities where there was no other RBS branch within a nine-mile (14km) radius.

The lender said it had “listened and engaged with customers, communities and elected representatives from all parties” and would provide an additional support package for customers across Scotland.

The bank also said that as part of the package of support it would look to open new branches across Scotland, improve ATM accessibility for all communities affected by closures still to go ahead, review opening hours of remaining branches, and work with communities to give empty branches to local community groups for free.

Jane Howard, managing director of RBS personal banking, said: “Having listened to the concerns of customers, communities and elected representatives from all political parties, we have decided to keep 10 branches open until the end of 2018.

“During this period we will monitor the level of transactions and new income at each branch and if there is a sustained and viable increase in both then we will reconsider the closure of the relevant branch as part of a full independent review.”

Andy Willox, FSB’s Scottish policy convenor, said: “Many businesses in the locality of these branches will be pleased that they’ve been granted a reprieve. But for those firms who use the other 52 branches slated for closure, today’s news will be of little comfort.

“Similarly, while RBS’s ATM promise sounds reassuring – does it open the door to the branch dramatically reducing the number of cash machines it maintains across Scotland?

“While we accept that RBS have made some concessions, and we look forward to better understanding the details of this announcement, this doesn’t look like the change of heart for which we were looking.”

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who represents Ross, Skye and Lochaber and has led a highly-vocal campaign against the closures, also hailed the decision as only a partial victory, while Isles MP Angus MacNeil described it as a “step in the right direction” but said there was still a “long way to go” to reassure communities.

Westminster’s Scottish Affairs committee said it now planned to summon RBS chief executive Ross McEwan “to clarify the contents of their announcements and press him on the future of the other branches in the RBS network”.

In a statement, it said: “We welcome today’s announcement from RBS as the first steps to addressing the concerns raised by the committee. However, given that there is a still an active closure programme being pursued by RBS, we remain to be convinced that the threat of serious consequences for remote or deprived communities has been removed.

“We hope that RBS will continue to consider the action they have taken and listen to local communities about the impact it will have on them.”