Bank to close 20 East Midlands branches

RBS is set to close 20 branches in the East Midlands after what it called “a dramatic shift in the way  customers are choosing to bank”.

The bank, which is still 72% publically owned, will close its branches in Ashbourne, Belper, Bingham, Bourne, Daventry, Dronfield, Eastwood Nottingham, Horncastle, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Lincoln Newark Road, Matlock, Mickleover, Netherfield, Northampton St James, Nottingham University, Ripley Derbyshire, Sleaford, Southwell, Staveley Chesterfield and Towcester.

Across the UK, RBS is closing 158 branches, with 925 staff affected. The moves comes after the bank announced it would close 86 branches late last year.

An RBS spokesman said: “As customers change the way they bank with us, we must change the way we serve them. While the branch will still be a core part of our offering to customers, inevitably some branches will have to close.”

Unite union acting general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “The RBS Group is turning its back on the communities that have been the foundation of its business for generations. That’s bad news for our members who now have to live with the threat of redundancy – and it’s bad news for customers and businesses.

“Banks have a duty to the wider community and that is especially the case for banks like RBS that have large taxpayer-owned shareholdings.

“People like the face-to-face contact that having a physical presence in the high street provides. Pensioners, people with mobility issues, and those without internet access are being particularly hard-hit – especially in rural areas. Small businesses are also badly affected – especially those that rely on cash-handing.

“It’s time for banking regulators and government to intervene, to force banks to maintain an adequate network that properly serves communities across the UK.”

Last month RBS reported a £7bn loss for 2016, its ninth consecutive year in the red. It has already closed around 450 branches since 2013.