There is mounting anger over swingeing cuts to bank services across Tayside and Fife, with another rural branch to close.
Politicians are outraged that four Bank of Scotland branches in Perthshire will slash their opening hours. This has been exacerbated by the Royal Bank of Scotland announcing it will close its site in Alyth next year.
The Bank of Scotland has confirmed its branches in Blairgowrie, Coupar Angus, Auchterarder and Crieff will be reducing their opening hours from December 7.
The Alyth branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will shut its doors for good on May 18, after an initial closing date was scheduled for November 18.
The changes in Perthshire follow bank closures in Fife this year at Elie, Crail, Newburgh, Aberdour and Kelty and last year at Lundin Links, East Wemyss, Thornton and Markinch.
In Angus RBS will close its branches in Brechin and Laurencekirk in November, after shutting its Kirriemuir branch this year.
Both John Swinney, MSP for Perthshire North and Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, said they feel the loss of the Alyth branch is another blow for residents, following a major flood that hit the town in July.
Mr Swinney said: “This decision, combined with the changes to Bank of Scotland opening hours, will undoubtedly affect local access to banking services.
Mr Wishart added: “I have had many of my constituents contact me about the decision to close the Alyth RBS branch particularly at such a challenging time when many are still organising their lives after the terrible flooding.”
Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said residents in Alyth are “very disappointed” to lose the branch and that RBS must ensure contingency services “make up for this loss.”
“Ultimately, RBS have to make a business decision. However, a significant number of the population still like the option of being able to speak to a bank teller face-to-face,” he said.
Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, said she wants details for the reasons behind the decision to cut bank services in Strathearn.
The closures and cutbacks across Angus and Fife provoked a strong backlash, with some promising campaigns against them.
The Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland both defended their decision to cut services to customers in Perthshire, with the former stating that fewer people are using these branches.
The cuts will mean that the Bank of Scotland’s branch in Coupar Angus will only be open on Tuesday and Thursday from December 7, while its Crieff bank will open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
A Bank of Scotland spokeswoman said: “We continually review the way in which we serve our customers. We are making some changes to opening hours across our branches to ensure they are open at the right times for our customers.”
She added that no redundancies will take place.
A Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman stated: “We fully understand that the decision to close the Alyth branch is a disappointment to the local community. The number of transactions taking place in Alyth has dropped by 15% since 2011, and only 50 customers use the branch on a regular weekly basis.”