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RBS to close branches, open ATM 'points of presence' in the UK

April 30, 2013

The Royal Bank of Scotland has revealed plans to shutter about 10 percent of its branches in the U.K. Currently the bank operates around 1,700 branches, not counting 316 locations that the European Commission has ordered RBS to sell.

Branch closures notwithstanding, Ross McEwan, CEO of the U.K. retail banking division at RBS, told the Herald of Scotland that the FI intends to increase its "points of presence" across the U.K. These would comprise automated deposit ATMs in addition to branches; 500 such facilities would be opened in locations such as rail stations and malls.

McEwan also told the Herald that existing branches might be moved to smaller locations, given the reduced number of transactions now conducted at the branch.

Questions and controversy surround the closure of an RBS branch when it is the last bank in a town, in light of the fact that the FI is 81 percent taxpayer owned. McEwan told the Herald  that "Every one of those we have to look at (on) their individual merits, because are there alternatives to what we could be doing for those people?"

He said that RBS had to ensure continued banking access to communities, and that in some cases, mobile branches were providing more extensive hours of service than bricks-and-mortar branches had been able to manage.

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