Union anger over Royal Bank’s actions

Banking staff union Unite Scotland has accused the Royal Bank of Scotland of “betraying” the people of Scotland.

In evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee of the House of Commons today Unite’s regional officer Lyn Turner will claim the bank has “massaged” branch closure figures.

The committee will also hear from Scottish Rural Action, which surveyed 1,100 people on the move.

The campaign group says 95% of people affected by the closures are in no doubt they should not go ahead.

Respondents raised concerns about isolation and the impact on tourism and said proposed alternatives, such as online banking and mobile banks, were a poor substitute.

Ms Turner said customers were right to feel let down.

“In the last decade the tax payer paid out £45 billion to bail out the failed executives of RBS in the financial crisis,” she said.

“The taxpayer still owns the bank and yet the payback for its rescue is now the proposed closure of one in three of its branches across Scotland.

“This is a betrayal of the people of Scotland.”

In its submission to the committee Unite Scotland will claim RBS has consistently presented the lowest figures for job losses and has failed to explain the reasons for closures.

The union also claims RBS has breached banking industry protocols, which require an impact assessment for every branch closure.

Ms Turner added: “From day one RBS has massaged the closure figures – on the scale of job losses in Scotland, on the quality of replacement services and on what this will mean for the devastation of local communities.

“The Scottish Affairs Committee must call the executives of the bank to account.”

Emma Cooper, chief executive of Scottish Rural Action, said the proposed branch closures would impact most severely on the vulnerable.

“RBS is not the only bank that has been closing branches, but many of these closures will be the last branch in town, leaving communities and business owners with no local alternatives.”

RBS chief executive Ross McEwan.