Fury over 162 RBS closures

ROYAL Bank of Scotland is facing a backlash from small businesses against plans to close 162 branches in England and Wales with the loss of nearly 800 jobs.

It has linked the decision to a deal last year with the European Union to satisfy state aid rules following its bailout nearly a decade ago.

This meant it did not have to sell 272 branches, including NatWest in Scotland, which were to be launched as a separate Williams & Glyn challenger bank.

It said the RBS retail banking business in England and Wales had “essentially been run as a standalone bank for around eight years”, while the “vast majority” of branches in England and Wales are in “close proximity” to either another RBS or a NatWest branch.

An RBS spokesman 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 and Wales.

“As a result we have had to review our overall branch footprint and we’ve made the difficult decision to close a number of RBS branches.

“Customers will be able to use NatWest branches instead for their everyday banking needs.”

It also said the way customers bank had undergone “radical” changes in which branch transactions are down 30 per cent since 2014 and customers using mobile banking had risen 53 per cent.

It said the 109 branches to close in July and August are within 0.6 of a mile of another RBS or NatWest branch, with the 53 shutting in November between 0.6 and 2½ miles of an alternative.

RBS will be left with a nationwide network of 859 branches.

Federation of Small Businesses chairman Mike Cherry said: “It’s thoroughly disappointing to see RBS using the failed sale of Williams & Glyn as an excuse to further decimate the UK’s bank branch network.

“This fresh round of closures will hurt high streets all over the country at a time when thousands of small firms are already struggling.

“When a bank branch goes it means less footfall, less cash in the local economy and less revenue for local small firms as a result.”

Treasury select committee chair Nicky Morgan said: “If financial exclusion is increasing, the Government may be required to intervene.”