RBS cuts criticised
Fury at huge loss to Linlithgow community
Two banks have announced that they will shut their branches in a West Lothian town within a month of each other next year - sparking anger from MSPs and union bosses.
Santander and RBS both plan to close their branches in Linlithgow in the May and June of 2018, respectively.
Santander will shut its doors on May 31 before RBS also closes on June 27 2018.
Both banks will now each only have two branches left in the whole of West Lothian, with each having one in Bathgate and one in Livingston.
The moves by the banks have been heavily criticised by politicians and union bosses.
On RBS Fiona Hyslop, SNP MSP for Linlithgow, said: “This is another blow from RBS to our local communities following the closure of their Whitburn RBS Branch earlier this year.”
Reacting to the Santander announcement, Ms Hyslop said: “It is extremely disappointing that news of the closure of Santander’s Linlithgow Branch in May next year has come hard on the heels of last week’s announcement that RBS will close its Linlithgow branch in June.
“I have already been contacted by constituents who feel let down by banks whose digital focus is at the expense of the face- to- face contact they supposedly value and I have written to the chief executive of Santander Bank to express my concerns.
“Elderly people and those with disabilities are always amongst those hit hardest by bank closures with those who have no choice but to visit a bank in person often facing real access issues when they are forced to bank at post offices or with credit unions.
On RBS Neil Findlay, Labour MSP for Lothian, said: “Here again, we have RBS completely disregarding their loyal customers. This is a bank that has profited for decades from communities but now turns their back on them with a cull of branches. By their every action they show contempt for the people who invest their money and pay the wages of their executives.”
Union bosses have also hit out at RBS’ decision to close 62 branches in Scotland. Lyn Turner, Unite Scotland’s regional officer, said: “RBS’s 2016 annual report states that they want ‘to transform the bank into the number one for customer service, trust and advocacy.’ What we have in 2017 is a plan which amounts to institutional financial vandalism on a scale which has never been seen in this country ever before. Customer service? Trust? Don’t make me laugh.”
An RBS spokesperson said the decision was made as more customers moved online and the bank would be creating a “specialist taskforce” to help customers who weren’t comfortable with using online banking as well as having new community bankers.
The RBS spokesperson said: “Our new community banker provides customers with personal assistance and support to access our non-cash services, as well as help with achieving their financial plans and goals – replicating many of the services available in our branches. We know that not all of our customers are comfortable or familiar with using online or mobile banking, so we have created a new specialist taskforce of TechXperts who will be dedicated to supporting our customers with training and support with digital skills.”
A Santander spokesperson said: “Santander is committed to ensuring we provide a good level of service that meets the changing needs of our customers. In order to do this we continually review our branch network, and sometimes need to make difficult decisions over our less utilised branches, ensuring colleagues and customers are informed well in advance of any changes.
“As a result of our recent review, Santander will be closing its Linlithgow branch in May 2018. This decision has not been taken lightly and follows a review looking across our UK branch network.”