40 BRANCHES AND 200 JOBS TO GO AT CLYDESDALE BANK

Clydesdale Bank announced on Wednesday, that due to ongoing decline in branch usage it would be closing 40 branches in Scotland. The wider Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group (CYBG) announced 79 branch closures throughout the UK with around 400 job losses. Around 200 of those jobs are at risk in Scotland. The bank said since 2011 the number of customers using high street branches for day-to-day transactions has fallen by a third.

A statement from the bank read: "This ongoing decline in branch usage, married to a sharp and sustained increase in digital and mobile engagement, has driven a shift to providing greater access to day-to-day banking services remotely, on the move and outside of normal business hours. The bank continues to reshape its service offering in response to these changing needs. To support this transformation the bank is committing £350m over the next two years, embracing digital innovation while continuing to invest in a more sustainable branch network to deliver a superior customer experience”. The bank also said it would try to find roles for frontline branch staff either within other branches or elsewhere in the bank wherever possible.

Clydesdale customer banking director Gavin Opperman added: "While the decision to close any branch is never an easy one, it is important that we, in line with other banks operating in the UK market, continue to respond to changes in the way customers want to bank with us. The changes announced today continue our journey towards a model that combines an enhanced digital platform with a right sized branch network; allowing customers to interact with us through a wide range of channels - mobile, online, telephone, in-branch - whenever and however they want."