Following the announcement by Royal Bank of Scotland that they would be closing a number of branches across South Scotland, Brian Whittle MSP wrote to Michael Crow, the bank's Head of UK Regional Public Affairs to lodge his concerns. Below you will find the text of that letter and a copy of the response Brian received.
The text has been edited to remove contact information. Edited sentences are denoted by * at beginning & end.
Letter from Brian Whittle MSP to Royal Bank of Scotland
31st March 2017
Dear Mr Crow,
Re: Proposed closure of Royal Bank of Scotland branches across South Scotland
In my role as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for South Scotland Region, I noted your recent announcement that Royal Bank of Scotland intends to close 30 branches across Scotland including a number in the South Scotland Region – Cumnock, Girvan, Mauchline, Newton Stewart, Prestwick and Troon.
I am concerned and disappointed by this announcement and have concerns about its impact on my constituents. I note you have justified these proposed closures by pointing to increasing numbers of customers using your digital banking services. However, I do not believe that this is a valid reason to cause significant disruption and inconvenience to other customers in and around these towns, who do not (and often cannot) use digital banking. I believe a large number of the customers who would fall into this category are likely to come from vulnerable groups. In this regard I believe your decision to close these branches disproportionally affects certain groups.
Since your plans were announced I have received representations from a number of constituents who are concerned about how these closures will impact them. For many elderly and disabled customers, the loss of a local branch can represent a significant barrier to their ability to access banking services. Limited public transport provision in more rural parts of South Scotland mean that some of your customers are now faced with a difficult and time consuming journey to carry out face to face banking. Furthermore, your proposal to assist customers with moving to digital banking prior to branch closures takes no account of the inconsistent mobile phone and broadband coverage around some of these towns, or the limited ability of some customers to cope with technology.
I’m also concerned about the potential impact this decision will have on small businesses in my area who use The Royal Bank of Scotland. It has already been pointed out that those business owners whose business involves a lot of cash transactions, will now have to incur a degree of increased personal risk to transport that cash over a longer distance to deposit it at their nearest branch.
There are also questions to answer regarding The Royal Bank of Scotland’s ability to provide a consistent service to those customers who are now being asked to move to digital banking. The Royal Bank of Scotland has experienced well publicised IT failures in recent years. For personal banking customers such IT failures can be inconvenient, but for small businesses an inability to carry out financial transactions can have a negative impact on their credibility and have long term repercussions. If the Royal Bank of Scotland’s digital banking systems were to fail, as they have been known to, that could have serious consequences for small traders. Such a situation will only be exacerbated if there is no local branch to turn to for support.
I fail to see why the choice of some of your customers to use digital services, should be seen as appropriate justification for a decision which will cause such disruption to the ability of other, equally important, customers to use your bank in the way most convenient to them. It is difficult to see how this decision aligns with your recent marketing campaign in which you describe yourselves as “The Royal Bank For Scotland”.
To many, including me, this appears to be a decision motivated by a short term commercial strategy to cut costs and satisfy shareholders, rather than one driven by ensuring customer satisfaction and returning the Royal Bank of Scotland to a sustainable financial footing.
I request a meeting with you or another senior representative of the Royal Bank of Scotland as soon as possible, to discuss this matter further.
In the meantime, I would appreciate a response to the following points in writing:
- What decision making process and criteria were used to determine that these branches would be closed?
- Were alternatives to full closure (reduced operating hours, further use of automated pay in/ withdrawal machines, etc) considered and, if so, why were they not considered to be viable alternatives?
- What accommodations does Royal Bank of Scotland proposed to put in place for customers with limited mobility, or limited access to transport who are now faced with traveling significant distances to their nearest branch?
- Will The Royal Bank of Scotland consider reviewing these closures in light of the significant
public opposition and legitimate concerns being raised?
- Whether or not these closures take place, will The Royal Bank of Scotland commit to keeping
all other branches open for a minimum period of 5 years?
I await your reply with interest.
With kind regards.
Yours sincerely,
Brian Whittle MSP
South Scotland Region
Response from Mr Michael Crow, Royal Bank of Scotland - Emailed to Brian Whittle's Head of Office
13th April 2017
Dear...
We continually monitor the ways in which our customers are choosing to bank with us and over the last five years there have been huge changes in our customers’ behaviours that have seen significant reductions in branch based transactions. As I’m sure Brian understands our purpose is to serve customers well and as their behaviours change, so must our approach.
Local CEO, Arlene McCrorie and her team are communicating with our customers affected by the closures and proactively contacting vulnerable and regular branch customers. Before making the decision to close the branch we ensure there is sufficient banking alternatives for the local community. We are following the Access to Banking protocol and we have made the decision after careful consideration of a wide range of factors, including regular branch usage and the alternative ways our customers can bank with us. We provide a range of alternative ways to bank, tailored to the needs of our communities and reflective of the way our customers live their lives. We have also extended the time between announcing our decision and the closure of the branch to six months. This is to ensure that our customers have time to consider the right banking options for them.
We know that a lot of our customers remain wary of alternative ways to bank, in particular, digital banking. To hopefully alleviate some of that concern, we are introducing a Royal Bank of Scotland “TechXperts” to the branches, who will offer customers individual digital training and support, as well as hosting special one-off events and fraud awareness days. We take a very holistic approach to this support and our Royal Bank of Scotland “TechXperts” are already supporting customers with a range on digital issues – from helping to set up brand new iPads and assisting customers register email addresses, to the more sophisticated services such as setting up Apple and Android Pay. The focus is on supporting customers individually with what they want to do, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. *If Mr Whittle would like any further details on the up-coming schedule of events please get in touch with Arlene McCrorie.*
As Mr Whittle rightly points out, some of our customers will miss the personal interaction of branch visits, but we are confident this can be continued on our mobile branch and in Post Offices. We are planning to introduce a mobile van service to Cumnock, Girvan and Newton Stewart. This service is available to our personal and business customers where they can carry out a range of banking transactions, including cashing cheques, making account deposits, withdrawing monies from their accounts, manage direct debits and standing orders, cheque/credit book and card ordering, exchange notes for coins up to £250 per day and paying bills. Business customers can also pay in Business Quick Deposit (BQD).
We have yet to decide on a sight location for each of these towns or how long the branch will stay in these locations for. However we are keen to ensure that the time and location of the branch’s visit is convenient for our customers. Timetables and route information will be made available, at the Cumnock, Girvan and Newton Stewart branch, in the coming months before closure. We are also retaining the ATM in all three locations after the branches close later this year.
Our contract with the Post Office also provides our customers a face to face option for simple banking transactions. Personal and business customers can check their balance, deposit cash and cheques and withdraw cash from their accounts. Business customers can also obtain coinage. There is a Post Office within a short distance of all six branches. Arlene’s team are keen to ensure that our customers continue to receive a personal, friendly service when visiting the Post Office premises and will be working with the Postmasters in each of the towns to ensure that this transition period runs as smoothly possible for our customers.
Our telephone banking service also supports the vast majority of banking services and our lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year. Services include balances and transfers; 3rd party payments; bill payments; ordering debit cards, cheque books and statements; stopping cheques; cancelling Direct Debits and Standing Orders; changing address details; requesting overdrafts; opening savings and current accounts; and support with online and mobile banking.
We have invested in a number of branches in the area: Kilmarnock Central, Ayr Chief Office, Irvine and Stranraer to reduce the waiting times for Business & Corporate customers by installing a full suite of automation, which includes a Business Quick Deposit and a Bulk Coin machine to deposit change. In addition, we have also chosen to allocate a Community Banker to Cumnock, Girvan, Newton Stewart and Troon, once the branches there close. An accredited professional banker with excellent knowledge of the local community, our representative will educate customers in the different ways they can bank, as well as helping realise financial goals, needs and priorities. There will also be an emphasis on community engagement through a number of channels, including charity events and social groups.
I hope I have been able to explain the alternatives available at a local level but please feel free to come back to me if you need anything else.
Kind regards,