Moray MP Douglas Ross has expressed his support for a Scottish Affairs Committee’s report into plans by RBS to close 62 branches across Scotland which was published today.
The Scottish Affairs Committee has produced a damming report into plans by RBS to close 62 branches across Scotland, concluding that if the bank wanted to meet the needs of its customers it would halt its plans.
The report is also strongly critical of the lack of involvement by the UK Government, noting that while the Government does not have the legal power to intervene, it should nevertheless have expressed its concern about the impact these closures would have on communities.
Douglas said: “In Moray we are well aware of the impact on local people of RBS’s decision to close many of their branches in our area. The company then offered a mobile banking service, but already we are seeing reduced services because the van is having to service more towns and villages as the bank closures increase.
“We had two visits a week from the van in Lossiemouth but now that’s been cut to just one a week. I also backed local people in Dufftown to ensure that the mobile bank continued to call there twice a week, but I know that villages such as Fochabers no longer have any service.”
The Scottish Affairs Committee’s report concluded that if the bank wanted to meet the needs of its customers it would halt its closure plans and criticised the bank, saying it did not fully appreciate the damages these closures will inflict and that if RBS truly wants to meet the needs of its customers, it should respond to this overwhelming evidence—which shows that there continues to be a strong demand for in branch services—and halt its closure programme.
Douglas added: “RBS needs to look again at this decision, if only to reflect on the impact it is having on its brand image. RBS customers in Moray and across Scotland feel angry and betrayed by the bank, something which bank bosses appeared completely unaware of.”