RBS bosses refused to rule out further branch closures during their attempt to defend cuts which threaten to scar communities across Tayside and Fife.
Les Matheson, who runs the taxpayer-owned bank’s high street operation, was hauled before MPs on Wednesday over its decision to shut 62 branches north of the border – eight of which fall in Courier Country.
Mr Matheson, who was handed £1.2m bonus package in March last year, said the bank would plough on with the cuts, despite admitting it can easily afford to back down.
And although there are “no plans” for more closures he said that could change in the face of new technology and changes to customer behaviour.
The closures will save the bank £9.5m, which Mr Matheson conceded is “not a significant amount of money” for the multi-billion pound operation.
In a slap in the face for those who rely on visiting a local branch, he insisted it “doesn’t make sense” to keep them open in areas when less than 1% of customers visit their branch at least once a week.
Mr Matheson appeared at the Scottish Affairs Committee alongside Jane Howard, the managing director of personal banking at RBS.
Paul Masterton, the Scottish Conservative MP, asked for clarity about whether this is “last round of closures for the foreseeable future”.
Mr Matheson responded: “We have no other plans. I can absolutely categorically say that.
“What I can’t categorically say is that at some point in time, if circumstance changed in particular areas or technology changes in a way that we can’t imagine right now, that things may change.
“But I can honestly say we have no plans right now.”
Perthshire’s Pete Wishart, the SNP MP and chairman of the committee, told Mr Matheson that their plan has been “decisively” rejected and asked if he would talk to customers and reconsider the plan in the face of vehement opposition.
Rejecting that proposal, Mr Matheson replied: “We will be talking to our communities about the changes that we are planning on making.”
Earlier, Unite regional officer Lyn Turner accused RBS of “spinning” the number of jobs being lost in Scotland.
He said 321 roles, including part-time ones, are being axed. RBS quotes 162 full-time equivalent jobs going.
The Courier is campaigning against the branch closures, as well as a further 49 across the country at Bank of Scotland, which will hit older people and small businesses the hardest.
The UK Government says they cannot intervene in what is a commercial decision, despite having a 71% stake in the bank.
RBS says that customers who are losing their branch will still be able to perform some tasks locally at mobile banks, post offices and cash machines.
It insists customers will have “more ways to bank than ever before”.
