RBS closures to affect 14 West Midlands branches
The Royal Bank of Scotland is to shut 14 branches in the West Midlands as part of a wave of closures that will result in nearly 800 job losses.
RBS has blamed the decision on a deal with the EU last year which meant the bank did not have to sell off 300 branches. The EU had demanded the sale, to increase competition, as a condition of the RBS taxpayer bailout in 2009.
The Williams & Glyn brand was revived in a bid to save the branches but no buyer was found.
A statement from RBS 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 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.”
The bank added that the 792 staff working at the 162 branches will be made redundant.
The West Midlands branches affected are Burton-upon-Trent, Edgbaston, Kidderminster, Nuneaton, Royal Leamington Spa, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stafford, Sutton Coldfield, Telford, Uttoxeter, Walsall and Worcester.
According to RBS the number of transactions being carried out at its branches has fallen by almost a third with people preferring online banking.
The Unite union has urged RBS to halt its “disastrous plans”.
Unite national officer, Rob MacGregor, said: “The TSB computer systems crash last week has demonstrated without question that the banking system needs its branch network more than it ever has.
“Unite is calling on the Royal Bank of Scotland management not to abandon their responsibilities to the communities across the country who depend on Williams & Glyn banking facilities.”
