RBS urged to save threatened branches as profits announced
The chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland has defended its closure of Scottish branches, saying mobile banks serve 440 communities. Ross Mcewan was responding to campaigns against the closure of 52 branches this spring.
A further ten of the most remote rural branches are under threat and their usage is being reviewed.
His comments came as RBS reported a profit of £792m for the first three months of the year - up from £259m for the same quarter last year.
Mr Mcewan said the moves were in response to customer choices.
The first quarter of this year saw branch transactions down 7 per cent, the use of cheques and cash machines bothdownby17percent,while downloading of the bank’s digital app is up sharply.
As a result, more branches which are currently part of the Williams & Glyn network are expected to be closed.
Mr Mcewan said the ten more rural Scottish branches are being reviewed until the end of the year, though the company doing that work is not now able to do it, so another firm will have to be found.
Facing criticism that mobile banksdonotstoplongenough, Mr Mcewan said some will be at a location for 15 minutes, but that can be extended if it is found that there is sufficient demand.
He said: “There are 440 communities that we get to every week. This is what people miss. This is a big network we’ve created. It just doesn’t happen to be a branch in every village.”
He added that it was now possible for Natwest customers to use RBS systems and vice versa.
Yesterday the Unite union called for a moratorium on branch closures, following the bank’s results.
Mary Alexander, deputy Scottish secretary of Unite said: “Here we have it in the black and white on the RBS balance sheet - RBS is rolling in profits. Surely now its time for the bank to call a moratorium on the axe hanging over 62 branches in Scotland. After all this is now a totally different situation profit-wise to when the plans were made to close one in three branches”
At the Scottish Affairs Select Committee hearing in Westminster in January RBS directors told MPS that it would save £9.5m a year after closing the 62 branches.
Mary Alexander added: “RBS now has the chance to prove what its telling people that it is the Royal Bank FOR Scotland. What is the point of closing 62 branches to save next to nothing in the grand scheme of things.”