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Some 258 jobs will be axed. The latest closures, all in England and Wales, are on top of 162 announced in May. No more will be shut until at least 2020. The bank insisted the “vast majority”
of affected branches are close to others or near branches of NatWest – which it owns. It denied it was a cost-saving move, citing the “radical change” in the way customers have banked over
the past few years. The decision was linked to it not having to sell nearly 300 branches that would have been launched as a separate Williams & Glyn challenger bank to satisfy EU state
aid rules. Echoing the Daily Express’s Save The High Street crusade, Rob MacGregor, of the Unite union, said: “It is utterly disgusting that RBS 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. “The disabled, elderly and many local businesses will be deeply disappointed that their bank has chosen to withdraw from their community.” Federation of Small Businesses
national chairman Mike Cherry said: “It’s extremely disappointing to see RBS using the absence of a Williams & Glyn sale as an excuse to further decimate its bank branch network. “It’s
little consolation to say, ‘That’s it until 2020’. We’ve already lost more than 2,000 branches since 2015 and are set to lose another two branches a day throughout 2018. “Small business
owners hugely value bank branch access, especially when it comes to depositing and withdrawing cash and discussing finance options.” The bank is still 62 per cent owned by the taxpayer after
its £45billion bailout nearly a decade ago.