Royal Bank of Scotland is to close 162 branches in England and Wales this summer with the loss of nearly 800 jobs, raising fresh concerns that many rural communities will soon be left without access to a bank branch.
RBS said the job losses were the result of a deal made with the European Union last year that meant the Edinburgh-based bank would no longer be forced to sell 300 branches. Instead 60% of them will be shut down.
The EU had demanded the sale, to increase competition, as a condition of the RBS taxpayer bailout in 2009. RBS resurrected the Williams & Glyn name for the branches it put up for sale – which were RBS banks in England and Wales together with NatWest branches in Scotland. However, it was unable to find a buyer.
The closures affect branches across England and Wales, from Truro to Colwyn Bay and Barrow-in Furness, with 11 in London.
The bank said 109 brancheswould close in July and August and 53 would shut in November, with 792 staff to be made redundant.
The latest closures come after years of shutting down branches, which have prompted political outcries and warnings about the end of high street banking. Only five months ago RBS announced it was closing 259 branches with the loss of 680 jobs.
After the latest round of cuts the bank will have 859 branches remaining, about 1,000 fewer than at the end of 2014. Nicky Morgan, chair of the influential Treasury committee, criticised the RBS decision, and said the government may have to intervene if closures worsened financial exclusion. RBS is still 71%-owned by taxpayers.
She said: “In recent years, retail banks have made decisions to shrink their branch network on the grounds that more people are banking online. But branches remain vital for many, particularly vulnerable people and those in rural areas.
“As a result of RBS’s decision, there is a risk of increased levels of financial exclusion. It’s important for the government to monitor this trend. If financial exclusion is increasing, the government may be required to intervene.”
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