3 more towns left without a bank amid new closures

THREE more Scots towns have been left without a bank after Bank of Scotland announced a fresh wave of branch closures.

In a new blow to high streets, the bank said it would close eight branches by the end of next year.

The lender said the branches were being closed due to falling customer numbers. It will leave Lossiemouth in Moray, Kirriemuir in Angus and Stonehouse in Lanarkshire without a bank branch. It said customers should use local post offices to access banking services.

Bank of Scotland will also close branches in Glasgow, Paisley in Renfrewshire, Dundee, Burnside in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, and Keith in Moray between February and June next year.

Scotland has already lost 52 Royal Bank of Scotland branches this year, and experts warn half of all UK bank branches could be lost within a decade.

The closures have been described as ‘devastating’ to high streets, local busiw nesses and communities.

Douglas Ross, Tory MP for Moray, said: ‘I’ve written to the Lloyd’s chief executive urging them to reconsider and am arranging a meeting involving community councils, residents and business owners so concerns can be discussed.’

The SNP’s Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, also said she had raised concerns directly with the bank, adding: ‘I am deeply disappointed Bank of Scotland have announced they plan on closing their Burnside branch. This will be devastating for constituents, local businesses and the wider community.

‘Myself and [local SNP councillor] Carol Nugent have requested a meeting with the Bank of Scotland as a matter of urgency.’

It comes after Lloyds closed 24 Bank of Scotland branches across Scotland last year, with 54 Lloyds and 22 Halifax branches axed elsewhere in the UK.

The company said the latest closures were down to ‘changing customer behaviour’.

This month, Lloyds announced it plans a major restructuring of its workforce as it focuses on digital technology. It will cut 6,000 jobs but create another 8,000 in a £3billion reorganisation over the next two years.

It comes after Antony Jenkins, ex-boss of Barclays, warned that up to half of all bank branches will close in the next five to ten years.

There are around 7,000 branches operated by the country’s biggest banks – meaning 3,500 could be at risk.

Mr Jenkins told the BBC in August that jobs are being axed as more people bank online and office tasks are automated.

RBS also blamed digital banking for its recent wave of closures, saying that usage of branches across Scotland has plummeted by 44 per cent since 2011.

As well as branches closing, 146 ATMs closed in Scotland between November last year and the end of March, according to consumer advice organisation Which?

The combined effect of removing cash machines and closing branches is said to be causing distress to customers and small businesses, who have to travel miles to deposit takings.

A Bank of Scotland spokesman said: ‘These closures are in response to changing customer behaviour and the reduced number of transactions made in branches.’

‘Devastating for local businesses’