An MSP has demanded a meeting with bosses set to axe Helensburgh’s Royal Bank of Scotland branch. branch
RBS – part owned by the taxpayer following a 2008 bailout – announced this week that the Colquhoun Square bank would close.
The move will leave Dumbarton’s branch, which operates limited opening hours, as the high street banking chain’s only branch between Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond.
The bank, owned by NatWest, broke the news at short notice and has not responded to requests for comment.
Helensburgh’s RBS is now earmarked to close for the final time on September 25.
But the area’s MSP, Jackie Baillie, has written to bank chiefs demanding that they reconsider.
“I am dismayed by Nat West’s decision to close Helensburgh’s long-standing branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland,” she said.
“I understand that more customers are switching to digital banking but not everyone is able to use these services and there are many members of our communities who, for a variety of reasons, still need in-branch services.
“I have written to the Royal Bank of Scotland seeking a meeting and demanding that they review this decision.
“It is not acceptable for banks sitting on large profits to continue to axe services customers need, especially in the case of RBS, which has benefitted significantly from public funds.”
The bank announced that 18 of its remaining 86 local branches will close, but pledged not to review the network again until 2026.
Rival Bank of Scotland announced last year that its branch in Kilcreggan would close on August 15.
RBS says it has considered a range of factors, including impact on customers; the level of financial vulnerability in the area, the nearest available branch and transport links, before reaching its decision.
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