RBS announce closure of eight more Cheshire branches next year

Eight Cheshire branches of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will shut after the bank announced closure of 54 more branches across England and Wales.

Almost 260 jobs will be lost in the move, which will also see eleven Greater Manchester branches face the axe.

The lender, still 62 per cent owned by the taxpayer, said the move was linked to it not having to sell its Williams & Glyn business, reports Manchester Evening News.

It has branches in close proximity to each other and is seeking to reduce overlap.

Royal Bank of Scotland has been branded 'utterly disgusting' after announcing plans to swing the axe on another set of branches.

Only four months ago the bank announced plans to close 162 branches with the loss of almost 800 jobs, including 31 of the branches in Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

The branches closing in Cheshire are:

• Altrincham - 17 January 2019
• Handforth - 12th November 2018
• Poynton -20 November 2018
• Alderley Edge - 29 November 2018
• Altrincham - 17 January 2019
• Congleton - 17 January 2019

• Marple - 21 January 2019
• Disley - 23 January 2019
• Prestbury - 28 January 2019

Previous branches in Ellesmere Port, Knutsford, Nantwich and Sandbach closed earlier this year.

RBS said with more people using internet banking, the number of transactions in branch has dropped massively.

An spokesman said: "As we are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other in England and Wales - NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland.

"As a result we have reviewed our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and have made the difficult decision to close 54 Royal Bank of Scotland branches. Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland in England and Wales will be able to use NatWest branches and local post offices for their everyday banking needs."

Unions reacted with fury to the news, describing the decision as a hammer blow to the disabled and elderly.

Rob MacGregor, of union Unite, said: "It is utterly disgusting that Royal Bank of Scotland has the audacity to announce that yet more important local bank branches will permanently close their doors.

"This announcement heaps further misery on communities across England and Wales that have already seen the demise of local banking services as branches that were signposted by the bank earlier in 2018 as an alternative for customers whose branches were closing, now suffering a similar fate.

"The disabled, elderly and many local businesses will today be deeply disappointed that their bank has chosen to withdraw from their community and no longer provide them with the access to banking services which we all deserve."

Last year, RBS avoided the compulsory sale of Williams & Glyn, which had been ordered by regulators as part of the bank's obligations under state aid rules following its £45 billion Government bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

Instead, RBS will put up money to be shared among so-called "challenger banks" to help them better compete with bigger players.
The closures will come as RBS reintegrates Williams & Glyn, including its branch network, back into the core bank.

RBS also pointed out that since 2014, branch transactions across its English and Welsh operations are down 30 per cent, while there has been a 53 per cent increase in the number of customers using mobile banking, and mobile transactions have increased by 74 per cent.

"We will now focus on investing in our Royal Bank network in England and Wales to make sure customers have a consistent range of products and services wherever they bank, be it Scotland, England or Wales," the lender's spokesman added.