NEWS that the Royal Bank of Scotland's Largs branch will close later this year has been branded as a "kick in the teeth" to the community.
The NatWest group announced on April 17 that the Largs branch is one of 18 RBS branches across Scotland which will shut by September.
They confirmed that 105 employees would be affected by the decision to close a fifth of the country's RBS branches.
The date of the closure of the Main Street branch has yet to be announced by the banking group.
However, councillors called the decision - which will leave Irvine as the only North Ayrshire town with an RBS branch - an "insult to the town".
Conservative councillor Todd Ferguson said: “This announcement is yet another kick in the teeth for communities in the North Coast.
"Many people, particularly elderly and vulnerable customers, prefer the security and safety of visiting their local bank.
“It is not feasible to ask people to travel miles to access banking services. There are almost no local options left for consumers.
“Local businesses will also be hit hard by this decision. Many still rely on physical banking services for a lot of their day to day transactions. For businesses with high footfall and cash transactions, a physical bank is crucial for safety and efficiency."
He continued: “Losing local jobs is also extremely disappointing. Many frontline services are the last bastion of local employment. Where will people find work locally if they all decide to go digital.
“Unfortunately, like a many of our vital facilities, it is a case of use them or lose them. So, I would encourage everyone to shop locally and use the services we have. Otherwise, more companies will follow suit, of the few who are left that is.”
READ MORE: Royal Bank of Scotland announces branch in Largs will close
'Unwelcome decision'
Meanwhile SNP councillor Eleanor Collier added: "It is a terrible decision and an insult to the town.
"Local residents and businesses who need the cash and other facilities or don’t want to or can’t use internet banking.
"I believe that if this goes ahead, from October the Irvine branch will be the only RBS left in mainland North Ayrshire.
"That is a disgrace, especially considering that last year the NatWest banking group made £6.2 billion in profits - and 35 per cent of RBS is still owned by the public after the huge sums of public money given to them to save their business from failing after the catastrophic banking crash caused by their own greed.
"The closure is a discriminatory, damaging and unwelcome decision and particularly bad news for our communities and businesses."
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The organisation added that redundancies would be on a voluntary basis and that there would be no further closures across its network until 2026.
RBS currently employs around 10,000 people in Scotland.
The bank's spokesperson said: “Our customers are using digital banking more than ever before – over 80 per cent of our active current account holders now use our digital services and over 97 per cent of retail accounts with us are now opened online.
“While we are increasingly engaging our customers digitally, our branch network remains important to us.
"We commit to no further review of our Royal Bank of Scotland branch network until at least 2026.”
News of the bank's closure comes hard on the heels of the announcement that the post office at the Spar store in nearby West Kilbride will shut in May.
READ MORE: 'Hammer blow' for West Kilbride as closure date announced for village post office
Independent councillor Ian Murdoch said: "This is extremely disappointing for customers that use this branch. It's also extremely disappointing for Largs town centre and society in general.
"We were informed on Monday that West Kilbride post office will close in May, and now the closure of the RBS.
"Some of my constituents inform me that they are managing their money using cash only as it's easier to manage in such a difficult financial climate."
He continued: "Some businesses are asking people to pay by cash to lower their increasing bank charges, and there have been calls for people to use cash more to maintain its use.
"I have written to the head of economic development and the chief executive at North Ayrshire Council regarding this week's concerning developments.
"I would prefer to see the bank remain as an important facility within our town centre."
Councillor Tom Marshall said: "Until recently there were five banks in Largs, and now we have one.
"This is a real problem for cash businesses who need a bank, and older people who struggle with internet banking, and will unfortunately leave another vacant shopfront.
"It is an even bigger loss for those employed in the branch.
"However, this process is almost unstoppable. I made a huge effort to delay the closure of the Clydesdale Bank in the town to no effect.
"I trust that locals will support the remaining Bank of Scotland and the local post office who provide a wide range of banking services."
North Coast SNP councillor Alan Hill has also been approached for comment.
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