Job cuts as RBS plans to close 162 branches

● Closures south of the Border as bank reduces overlap with its other brands

Royal Bank of Scotland is to close 162 branches in England and Wales, resulting in 792 job losses.

The lender, still 72 per cent owned by the taxpayer, said the move was linked to it not selling its Williams & Glyn business to spin off as a “challenger bank”.

As a result, the group is seeking to reduce overlap of branches in close proximity. It also owns the Natwest brand south of the Border.

RBS said: “Following a review of the branch network in England and Wales, a decision has been taken to close 162 Royal Bank of Scot- land branches. As a result of this process, around 792 roles will be made redundant, and we will seek to support our colleagues with the option to leave on a voluntary basis.”

Last year, RBS avoided the compulsory sale of Williams & Glyn, which had been ordered by regulators as part of the bank’s obligations under state aid rules following its £45 billion government bailout at the height of the financial crisis. Instead, RBS will put up money to be shared among the “challenger banks” to help them better compete with bigger players.

The closures will come as RBS reintegrates Williams & Glyn. A total of 109 branches will close in late July and August. They are all within 0.6 miles of another RBS or Natwest branch, the group said.

A further 53 branches will close in November, all of which are between 0.6 and 2.5 miles of another RBS or Natwest branch.

An RBS spokesman said: “We are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank, and we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other; Natwest and Royal Bank of Scotland, in England and Wales. As a result we have had to review our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and we’ve made the difficult decision to close a number of Royal Bank of Scotland branches. Customers of RBS in England and Wales will be able to use Natwest branches instead for their everyday banking needs.

“We now provide our customers with more ways to bank with us than ever before – customers can choose from a range of digital, face-to-face and local options to suit their needs.”

RBS said that since 2014, branch transactions across its English and Welsh operations are down 30 per cent, while there has been a 53 per cent increase in the number of customers using mobile banking, and mobile transactions have increased by 74 per cent.

RBS has already announced plans to close 52 Scottish branches. A further ten remote rural branches are also under threat, with their usage is being reviewed until the end of the year.

RBS chief executive Ross Mcewan has responded to criticism of the closures by saying that mobile banks serve 440 communities.

However, though a new timetable for the service starting this month includes more locations, critics have pointed out that the amount of time at some places will be cut, including Kingussie(from 45 minutes to 20) and Boat of Garten (30 minutes to 15).