Full list of RBS branches to be shut in Scotland as bank confirms one in five to be axed

RBS has announced they will be closing down one in FIVE of their banks in Scotland.

Bank chiefs broke the news that even more hubs would be disappearing from Scotland’s high streets.

Bosses are axing a fifth of Royal Bank of Scotland branches across the country.

It means 18 branches have been marked for permanent shutdown.

The offices are set to be closed in September.

These include three branches in Glasgow and three branches in Edinburgh.

The bank’s chief office in Inverness will even be shutting down.

The closures come as the bank plans to move towards more digital banking – which the firm says makes up 80 per cent of its business.

Bank chiefs say staff are reaching out to customers who are set to struggle with the loss of a physical bank branch – such as the elderly and those in rural communities.

Bosses have also promised that no other reviews into branch closures will be made until 2026.

An RBS spokesperson 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.

“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.

“We commit to no further review of our Royal Bank of Scotland branch network until at least 2026.

Up to 105 staff are set to be impacted by the closures, with many fearing jobs could be put at risk.

Union bosses say the closures are a massive blow to Scotland’s communities.

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 news is another massive blow to this loyal workforce and the communities the bank serve.”

Esther O’Hara, Unite industrial officer

“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.”

RBS is just the latest bank to announce a move towards digital banking and close down physical branches.

Just last month, Bank of Scotland announced 18 branches would be shut down across Scotland.

Lloyds Banking Group announced a wave of closures across the UK.

Branches of Halifax, Natwest and Lloyds will all be shutting their doors for good.

Barclays also closed down six of its banks in February.