Bank urged to rethink mobile branch plans
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BANK chiefs have been urged to listen to community concerns about mobile banking provision in Ross-shire after the axe fell on two under-threat branches.
Kyle and Beauly’s Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) sites will shut in the new year after a review of the branches recommended their closure – despite an outpouring of local support.
Johnston Carmichael, which carried out the review on behalf of RBS, stated that all banking functions in Beauly could be fulfilled by the mobile branch and local Post Office, while in Kyle, the report said, branch use was low and it was also not the last bank in town.
Local MSP Kate Forbes voiced her disappointment at the decision, in which six other under-review branches in Scotland were also condemned for closure.
She urged bank bosses to listen to community suggestions over mobile bank use and timings to ensure customers do not miss out. She called for the creation of prearranged collections for businesses seeking to deposit large amounts of cash, after the review recognised that such arrangements could be improved.
The MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch said: "As the MSP for Beauly and Kyle, I am of course disappointed that the RBS branches in both towns are to close.
"While I recognise branch use has been declining in both of these areas, there are still well-documented and legitimate questions regarding security and disabled access in the alternative banking provision.
"The review plainly states that the branch closure in Beauly will cause difficulties for vulnerable customers and so as the constituency MSP I am calling on RBS to work with me to put measures in place to provide specific support for them. I hope RBS will work with me to listen to the views of the community council to ensure there are better routes and provision in the Beauly area."
The union Unite slated the announcement by RBS, arguing that the bank had simply gone through the motions of reviewing the cases before pushing ahead with its original plans.
The union’s regional officer, Lyn Turner, said: "The Johnston Carmichael review was entirely predictable and nothing but a rubber-stamp of RBS management decisions. Sixty communities out of an original 62 with branches earmarked for closure will now be marginalised by this so-called review. Unite will request to meet RBS urgently to discuss the impact."
Simon Watson, managing director of personal banking at RBS pledged to provide banking alternatives in Kyle and Beauly. He said: "We know branches are important to many communities, but equally we know that fewer people are using them as more people bank online. In every case of a branch closing we are committed to providing the best possible range of alternatives."
