RBS to close six Welsh branches
Royal Bank of Scotland is to close 162 branches in England and Wales, resulting in 792 job losses.
The closures come as RBS reintegrates Williams & Glyn, including its branch network, back into the core bank.
A total of 109 branches will close in late July and August 2018. These branches are all within 0.6 miles of another Royal Bank of Scotland or NatWest branch.
A further 53 branches will close in November 2018, all of which are between 0.6 and 2.5 miles of another RBS or NatWest branch.
Six branches in Wales are on the list to close:
■ Barry, July 26, 2018
■ Cardiff Docks, November 21, 2018
■ Colwyn Bay, July 31, 2018
■ Llandudno, August 30, 2018
■ Newport, Gwent, August 2018
■ Wrexham, July 26, 2018
An RBS spokesperson 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 22, 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 Royal Bank of Scotland 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, faceto-face and local options to suit their needs.”
Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: “The Williams & Glyn saga rolls on as Royal Bank of Scotland continues with its shambolically poor management of this business.
“How does a taxpayer-funded institution spend £1.8bn on a failed IT project and in the next breath demolish the much-needed local bank branches?
“The reality is that as a result of these planned closures, the overwhelming majority of customers will find themselves without access to full banking facilities and in the most extreme examples some will find themselves having to make a round trip of circa 130 miles.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: “The Conservatives seem to have forgotten about the ‘last bank in town’ pledge, where communities must have at least one bank or the local post office must take over its duties.
“Ministers must check that RBS has consulted the Post Office for these assurances.
“All this has happened because RBS dragged off and defaulted on its Williams & Glyn spin-off, another of the inglorious failures of its recent past.”
In mid-April Lloyds announced it was closing 41 branches nationwide, with Bridgend the sole site in Wales affected.
The banking giant said 1,230 jobs will be cut across its branch network, although the group said it is creating 925 roles elsewhere in the business.
At the end of 2017 NatWest said it was closing 20 branches in Wales.