The Royal Bank of Scotland’s decision to close several of its Fife branches has been branded “deplorable” by a leading local councillor.
The taxpayer-owned bank announced last week that its branches in Anstruther, Cupar, Cowdenbeath, Dalgety Bay, Leven and Kirkcaldy High Street would close at the beginning of October.
Concerned about the impact on local town centres throughout the region, councillor Tom Adams, chair of the Levenmouth area committee, said the towns affected by the latest round of closures would suffer.
“It is deplorable to close these branches,” he said.
“If you take Cupar, Anstruther and Dalgety Bay out of the equation, these are three areas of high deprivation.
“In Leven, it comes after the closure of the Clydesdale Bank and the Royal Bank has not even given itself the opportunity to collect those customers.
“I think there is a bigger picture here to do away with banking on our high streets. How are people meant to withdraw lump sums of money if they don’t have a bank to visit?”
Meanwhile East Neuk and Landward councillor Elizabeth Riches said that the closure of the RBS in Anstruther was inconsiderate to local people.
“The branch in St Andrews has been suggested as an easy alternative for Anstruther customers,” she said.
“This misses the point that currently Anstruther serves as a centre for the East Neuk and once trips are made to St Andrews for a bank, other shopping will be carried out at the same time. Removing the bank is like removing a plug in the wider community.
“No consideration has been given to the rural position of the East Neuk and businesses will suffer in many ways.”
The Federation of Small Businesses added that the closures would hurt the productivity and profitability of independent traders.
The future for staff at the six branches is now uncertain, with closures to commence from the beginning of October.
In a statement, the Royal Bank claimed more customers were using mobile and online banking, moving away from using traditional branches.
The move has already been condemned by politicians across Fife.
An RBS spokesperson said: “We are communicating with our customers affected by these closures and proactively contacting vulnerable and regular branch customers.”