Bank of Scotland in another round of branch closures

Bank of Scotland is carrying out another round of branch closures, with several due to close in the north and north-east during the next 12 months.

Lloyds Banking Group, which operates the brand, said there has been a reduction in the number of people visiting branches in the past five years.

It is closing a total of 53 Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches in the next year.

Some of the Bank of Scotland closures planned for the Highlands will result in customers having to make trips of more than 30 miles to visit alternative branches.

Six Bank of Scotland branches across the north and north-east are to close as part of the latest round of cuts.

They are located in:

■ Aviemore – closing May 21 2024

■ Ballater – closing October 11 2023

■ Braemar – closing October 17 2023

■ Cults – closing August 14 2023 (previously announced)

■ Fort Augustus – closing October 5 2023

■ Ullapool – closing October 23 2023.

The bank said it completes a “detailed impact analysis” before deciding whether a branch should be shut down.

It looks at factors such as how often customers are using the branch and checking alternative ways to bank nearby.

Justifying each of the closures, the bank said: “The world is becoming more digital than ever before and more of our customers are doing their everyday banking online.

“With more customers choosing to use digital ways to bank and manage their money, visits at this branch have fallen.

“As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to close it.”

The analysis shows the number of personal and business customers going into branches has fallen over the past five years in all cases.

In Aviemore, for example, the number of personal and business customers using the branch is down by 71% and 59% respectively.

While in Braemar, the bank said just 11 customers used the village’s branch each month during 2022.

This figure was 119 for Aviemore, 69 for Ballater, 27 for Cults, 20 for Fort Augustus and 20 for Ullapool.

The north closures mean other Bank of Scotland branches are long distances away.

In the case of Ullapool, it is 45 miles to Dingwall or 56 miles to Inverness.

Commenting on the Ballater and Braemar closures, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie described the news as a “backwards step” for Deeside.

He added: “I am asking for a meeting with the chief executive to discuss the reasons and methodology used to make this decision.

“It will mean personal and business banking customers are going to have to travel between 22 and 37 miles to access a branch.

“Older residents, charity account holders and people relying on rural bus services will be among those most inconvenienced.

“I urge Bank of Scotland to reconsider this wrongheaded approach.

“These branches are already operating on a minimum timetable and it is hard to imagine the merit of swapping to a travelling service.“

WRONGHEADED: Tory MP Andrew Bowie questioned the methodology for deciding closures. Picture by Kenny Elrick.