RBS closures are intolerable

I CAN’T recall ever writing a letter to all of the broadsheet newspapers before, but such is my fury with the Royal Bank of Scotland that I have been driven to do so today.

The decision to shut one-fifth of its branches in Scotland (“Royal Bank of Scotland to close 18 branches ‘in months’”, The Herald, April 18 begs the question: is the Royal Bank of Scotland a bank of Scotland any more? (Spoiler alert: it’s not as, courtesy of the stupidity of Fred “the Shred” Goodwin and his pals, it is now a subsidiary of the London-based Natwest group.) The proposed cuts would see the two remaining local RBS branches (Bruntsfield and Nicolson Square) in the south side of Edinburgh shut, leaving customers the inconvenience of travelling to the city centre to do any basic banking tasks beyond what can be achieved online.

That is a truly intolerable level of service to offer to the well over 100,000 residents of Edinburgh who stay in the south of the city. I have banked with RBS for close on 50 years but I am certain that I am not the only long-term customer who is now making inquiries regarding switching to another bank that does take its responsibilities to local communities seriously.

And before opening an account with another bank, yes, I will be asking what their policies are regarding servicing local communities.

David Patrick,

Edinburgh.