COURIER OPINION: We bailed out the banks – so why have our local branches closed?

When the banks – through a mess entirely of their own making – needed our help, we dug deep.

The public bailout in 2008 cost UK punters billions of pounds.

Banks survived thanks to us.

At one point, then-chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling was famously advised that one of the biggest institutions – the Royal Bank of Scotland – was “within hours” of running out of money.

It led him to conclude that “the game was up” and so the massive “recapitalisation” plan was set in motion.

Having been thus rescued by an albeit reluctant public, one might hope that the banks would go out of their way to repay their debt – in both financial and moral terms.

Yet it has been revealed that 53% of Scotland’s bank branches have closed since 2015 – the highest loss percentage across the UK.

As we face a cost-of-living crisis, access to the cash we own is more vital than ever.

We are now at the stage where we need our banks – just as they needed us 15 years ago.

Will they be there in our hour of need?