Following his petition to secure a stay of execution for the Comrie RBS bank branch, local MP, Luke Graham, Liz Smith MSP and Cllr Roz McCall, have met with RBS representatives in Comrie to discuss the long-term future of branches in the region.
RBS have not made a long-term commitment to any of the branches with only Comrie guaranteed to stay open until the end of 2018. Branches in Alloa and Kinross are still earmarked for closure.
Following RBS’ shock announcement in December Liz brokered today’s meeting and believes it was a success in providing a forum for local people to have their say.
In addition to the work of his petition, Luke has met with RBS officials, Treasury Ministers, local community representatives and has written to the Lending Standards Board to push for a positive resolution on this issue.
Today’s meeting came off the back of RBS announcing they have made a pre-tax operational profit of £2.2bn for 2017.
Speaking after the meeting, Luke Graham said:
“I welcome the decision from RBS to keep Comrie open until the end of the year following local pressure and my petition, but this is obviously not a long-term solution and it is disappointing to note that two other branches remain on the chopping block.
“I would also like to welcome today’s meeting and news that the ATM will continue to operate in the town.
“However, many residents still feel let down by the level of engagement and transparency offered by RBS during the course of this issue.
“Today’s financial results indicate that RBS is performing well and I would call on them to use a small fraction of this to support rural communities and keep our branches open.”
Commenting Liz Smith MSP said:
“I would like to thank RBS officials for travelling to Comrie and meeting with politicians and community representatives but only wish these talks could have been held sooner.
“Despite this, I was pleased to hear a commitment from RBS to maintaining an ATM presence in the town as this will be important for both residents and businesses.
“Unfortunately, nothing can replace the accessibility of a physical branch but the contingency measures outlined today will go some way to reassuring customers if the branch is to close.
“Ultimately, it’s important that stakeholders work together to ensure that the future of banking in Comrie is secure, whether that is a physical branch, mobile or community banking.”