Toxic legacy at RBS

THE scale of the latest round of RBs branch closures in scotland is alarming, with one in three earmarked for the chop.

A spokesman declares: ‘More and more of our customers are choosing to do their everyday banking online or on mobile’ and points to a 40 per cent drop in branch business since 2014.

But isn’t the reality that, rather than ‘choosing’ to forego face-to-face interaction with lenders, very many customers are forced online? that is either because of previous branch closures or through diminished staff numbers at the few remaining branches.

Earlier this year, it emerged 500 identity frauds are reported in the UK every day. Of these, four-fifths are perpetrated on the internet, while more than half target accounts and plastic cards.

the reluctance of elderly customers to do their banking online may have much more to do with a healthy concern for the safety of their cash than some Luddite reluctance to engage with new technology.

the latest RBs job losses are a cruel blow at this time of year and the closures are another kick in the teeth for rural scotland, where many towns and villages now face losing a key facility.

All this is made all the more painful because RBs was saved from complete disaster by the taxpayer and we still own 72 per cent of the bank.

the shadow cast by disastrous RBs chief executive Fred Goodwin is exceptionally long and his legacy is proving deeply toxic.