Glasgow RBS branches to close as hundreds of jobs across Scotland at risk

A number of Glasgow Royal Bank of Scotland branches are set to close, with more than 100 jobs at risk across the country.

18 of RBS’s 86 local branches are to be shut down in September, with the bank confirming 105 people would be affected by the closures. Seven of the earmarked branches are in the Greater Glasgow area.

The bank – owned by NatWest – pointed to the rise of digital services, saying 80 per cent of its active current account holders now bank online and more than 97 per cent of its retail accounts are opened over the internet, the Scottish Daily Express reports.

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A spokesperson for RBS said: “Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80% of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97% of retail accounts with us are now opened online. While we are increasingly engaging our customers digitally, our branch network remains important to us. We commit to no further review of our Royal Bank of Scotland branch network until at least 2026.”

They continued: “But we know that a small number of people are not yet comfortable with it, which is why we are proactively reaching out to support them with this transition, having made over 200,000 calls last year. We also have experts that they can speak to for support and guidance.”

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Trade union Unite has responded to the announcement, describing is as a “massive blow to this loyal workforce” .

Esther O’Hara, Unite industrial officer said: “The news that RBS is proposing to slash its high street and community banks by a fifth is another massive blow to this loyal workforce and the communities the bank serve. Many of these banks are situated in rural and remote communities where RBS customers rely on this vital service.

“The proposed closures come off the back of RBS closures elsewhere in the UK and we fear this latest announcement is just another stage in the phasing out of banks from our nation’s streets in the race to make all banking operations digital which is not suitable or accessible for many customers.

“The proposals raise fears for over 100 jobs and Unite’s objective is to ensure that there are no compulsory redundancies. The Natwest Group, which owns RBS, is an extremely profitable bank with its latest pre-tax profits rising by 20% to £6.2bn last year. It remains a bank which the taxpayer still owns by around 35 per cent, yet there is very little return for the public and no regard for the workforce and the customers the bank is supposed to serve.”

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