Moray MP Douglas Ross is set to make “the strongest possible case” for keeping open the Forres Bank of Scotland branch when he meets with bank bosses in Westminster tomorrow (Tuesday).
Douglas Ross slammed the announcement from the bank last week, which if it goes ahead in July will leave the town without a bank branch.
He has now secured a meeting with representatives of Bank of Scotland and will urge them to re-think their “completely misguided” decision which has been met with widespread anger by constituents in Forres over the last week.
Douglas says Bank of Scotland have left many elderly and vulnerable customers in particular hugely anxious after the announcement and left wondering how they will access banking services going forward.
He says Bank of Scotland bosses must listen to those who use the bank in Forres and U-turn on their plans as quickly as possible.
Moray MP Douglas Ross said: “I was determined to secure a meeting as soon as possible to voice my grave concerns over the closure of the last bank in Forres directly to Bank of Scotland bosses.
“I’ll be making it absolutely clear to them that this decision is utterly unacceptable and must be reversed. If they press ahead, Bank of Scotland would be abandoning Forres and some of their most rural and remote customers.
“Constituents have voiced their anger to me in huge numbers over the last week and the Bank of Scotland cannot ignore their voices. Local residents want the branch to remain open and so do I.
“Many of our elderly and vulnerable customers are simply not able to carry out mobile or internet banking and even if they can, connectivity is not always reliable.
“This meeting must herald a change of direction from the Bank of Scotland and I will be continuing to explore every avenue to ensure there is a bank branch open in Forres.”