Haddington bank branch to close

ONE of the two remaining TSB branches in East Lothian will close its doors for good later this year.

The branch on Haddington’s Court Street shuts on September 5, leaving Musselburgh as the only county town with a TSB.

More than 35 branches in the UK are set to close in September.

A spokesperson for TSB said: “The way customers bank with us is changing.

“Over 95 per cent of transactions are now being made using mobile, online and other ways to bank, instead of in our branches.

“And more customers than ever are using our video and telephone banking service.

“We remain committed to face-toface services across the country, and over 90 per cent of our customers are within a 20-minute drive to a branch, or location of a money confidence expert.

“But we want our services to reflect the current and future needs of our customers and keep open branches that are used the most, so sometimes this means that we have to close some branches.”

Figures show that 84 per cent of personal customers using TSB in Haddington also used another branch or channel. That figure rises to 91 per cent for business customers. Just eight per cent of personal customers use the Haddington branch “regularly” and only one per cent of business customers. The majority of customers using the branch are 65 or over.

Katherine Crawford, Age Scotland’s chief executive, was concerned by the decision.

She said: “This is a disappointing move from TSB, and unfortunately is the latest in a continuous stream of banks abandoning high streets across Scotland in favour of a digital-by-default approach that does not consider the needs of all of their customers.

“Access to cash and in-person banking services are vital for many older people in Scotland.

“In fact, we know that 34 per cent of over-65s prefer to bank in person.

“We also know that 31 per cent of over-65s feel uncomfortable with the idea of online banking.

“With branches disappearing at a rate of knots, an increasing number of communities are being left with either one local bank or facing the prospect of travelling further afield to do their banking.

“This is especially concerning for older people in rural and remote areas.”