Locals have been “badly let down” after the Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed that its decision to close the Rutherglen branch is final.
That’s according to Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey who met with representatives of the bank to urge them to retain their presence on the Main Street, but they’ve ruled out doing so.
As reported by Lanarkshire Live last week, RBS is set to permanently shut its doors on September 24.
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This comes after local MP Michael Shanks started a petition to fight RBS’s decision to close their only remaining branch in the constituency.
It is understood that staff have been offered the choice of relocating to another branch or to take voluntary redundancy.
Ms Haughey told Lanarkshire Live: “I met with representatives of the Royal Bank of Scotland regarding their plans to close their Rutherglen branch. Sadly, they confirmed that they have made a final decision and the branch will close on September 24.
“I stressed my opposition to the closure and expressed my sincere disappointment that they didn’t even consult on the plans before reaching a final decision.
“In less than 10 years, RBS have closed their branches in Blantyre, Burnside and Cambuslang and their decision to withdraw from Rutherglen will remove their banking presence locally – other than in the Cambuslang BankHub on a Monday.
“RBS had published a document online saying that only ‘20 personal customers’ use the branch each week. My office is right across the road from the RBS and over a 20-minute period on Friday, we counted almost 30 groups of people go into the branch.
“RBS stated that their definition of a ‘personal customer’ is someone who uses the bank on an almost weekly basis. I find this methodology deeply flawed as it downplays the actual level of customers per day.
“I am deeply disappointed at RBS’ decision – they’ve badly let down their customers.”
RBS confirmed that 105 people would be impacted by the closures as 18 of its 86 local branches across the country prepare to shut within months.
The four Lanarkshire branches under threat are those in Cumbernauld Tay Walk, East Kilbride, Wishaw and Rutherglen.
An RBS spokesperson said: “We have invested in our partnership with the Post Office to provide everyday face-to-face banking services local to our customers.
“When we close a branch, we are proactive in contacting and supporting our customers to ensure they can continue to bank with us in the way which suits them best.
“We are also investing £10.5m in our network across Scotland, from 2023-24, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like banking hubs.”
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