RBS closure
Petition launched as customers fight for future of Burnside branch
The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced its Burnside branch will close in October.
The news follows on from three banks announcing they were closing branches in Cambuslang in the space of a few months.
The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Burnside branch is set to close in October, despite fierce opposition.
The 73 per cent taxpayer- owned bank – who have already closed their branch on Cambuslang Main Street – confirmed on Thursday that the Burnside site would also go within months.
It is the fourth branch earmarked for closure in the Rutherglen and Cambuslang area in the past year.
The RBS say the decision is based on a falling footfall at the bank – but the closure was announced weeks after the bank reported a £7bn loss.
They said since 2011 the number of transactions made in Burnside has fallen by 21 per cent, while mobile and online transactions have increased by over 400 per cent between 2010 and 2015.
But customers of RBS told the Reformer it had a responsibility to remain in a community which has a large number of older residents. And a petition has already been launched encouraging RBS to reverse the decision.
John Clift, from Cambuslang, started banking in Burnside after the RBS branch in his town shut last year.
He said: “It’s a worrying trend. My wife and I both use the branch for banking and she looks after her mother’s accounts too.
“It will be a real loss, especially for the older people around here.
“OK, the younger ones do their banking online but older people don’t understand iPads or things like that.”
Burnside man Tony added: “I’m really surprised it’s closing because there’s a lot of businesses here. I’m on the street everyday and I see it does a lot of business.
“It’s a great facility for the elderly. Burnside has a high percentage of older people, what do they do now?”
A spokesman for RBS said: “We are communicating with our customers affected by the closure and proactively contacting vulnerable and
regular branch customers. We have listened closely to feedback from local communities and have extended the time between announcing our decision and the branch closure to six months. This has been done in order to ensure our customers have time to consider the right banking options for them.
“We know not all of our customers are comfortable and familiar with using online or mobile banking, so we have created a new specialist taskforce of digital experts who will be dedicated to supporting our customers with training and support with digital skills.”
In a joint statement, SNP council candidate Carol Nugent, Margaret Ferrier MP and Clare Haughey MSP, said: “This announcement deals a devastating blow to the local community. Local banking services are being removed at an alarming rate and this is a real blow for Burnside.
“RBS was bailed out by the people of the UK and the bank – which is still mostly state- owned – is now letting those same people down. RBS needs to reflect upon the needs of the communities it serves, instead of shutting branches to make up for the billions it has paid out for mis-selling payment protection insurance and in fines over the currency rigging scandal.
“We have contacted RBS demanding an urgent meeting.”
Sign the RBS petition at https://www. change.org/p/royal-bank-of-scotlandsave-rbs-branch-burnside
It will be a real loss, especially for older people John Clift