THE under-fire head of RBS has suggested the 'in-decline' Post Office is "the best solution" to fill the void from a series of bank branch closures sweeping the country.
RBS chief executive Ross McEwan, who is under renewed criticism for branch closures, came up with the suggestion while ruling out sharing premises with rivals to avoid areas being left with no branches.
The bank is facing anger as they plan to shut more 62 branches with the loss of about 158 jobs, leaving Scotland with less than 100 branches for 1.7million customers.
Mr McEwan in defending the cuts has said using the Post Office is the way forward while rejecting co-locating with other banks, which he said looked like a "straightforward solution" but turned out not to be the case.
Post Office figures show it has an 11,600-strong network which has shrunk from 19,000 in 2000 and is half the number that existed in the 1980s. In December, it emerged nearly 800 sub-post offices were closed secretly – despite Government pledges to keep branches open - although the Post Office said they would reopen when new postmasters were recruited.
Mr McEwan has said in a letter to Pete Wishart, chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee: "Having...considered the regulatory and technical restrictions and its practicalities, it was agreed that the Post Office was in effect the shared bank premises."
READ MORE: RBS boss personally reviewed branch closures
But Unite's deputy Scottish Secretary Mary Alexander dismissed the notion that post offices are the future for community banking.
Mary Alexander, centre, joined Unite members at the RBS headquarters in Edinburgh in February to protest
She said: "Post offices are closing at an alarming rate or being relocated in the back of a shop with a much reduced counter service which is not equipped to deal with the volumes of business cash or the community’s banking needs.
"Post offices are not an adequate alternative to the current banking service both the community and businesses expect. RBS is a profitable bank largely owned by the taxpayer and can well afford to keep all 62 branches open that are earmarked for closure. "
READ MORE: RBS boss personally reviewed branch closures
A year-and-a-half ago, a collection of high street banks struck a unheralded deal with the Post Office to provide nearly all of the large banks' personal customers and 75 per cent of their small business clients with what Unite the Union argued were "restricted counter services only".
They include face-to-face services from depositing cash and cheques to reviewing balances, identical to the services you get from advanced cash machines.
But unlike with official bank branches, customers are not able to talk to a mortgage adviser, make account queries, change details, apply for bank accounts, request a new card reader, or discuss loan options.
Post Offices allow for deposits, but the maximum amount at some branches is £2,000, and customers will need a bank paying-in slip and deposit envelope.
RBS also warns that cash and cheques paid in through the Post Office will be added to an account when they receive it which is usually within two working days, but can take longer.
But Mr McEwan indicated that the services provided with the Post Office in partnership with high street banks is the future.
He said: "High street banks partner with the post office to offer everyday banking services via the Banking Framework and technology has been developed to allow all banks to compatibly operate with their systems.
"In doing this, local post offices have the opportunity to financially benefit from offering additional banking services and attracting more customers - indeed postmasters in some locations tell us that they will rely on the additional business this will provide to stay viable and present in local communities.
READ MORE: RBS boss personally reviewed branch closures
"Furthermore, via UK Finance, signatory banks to the Banking Framework are now working with the Post Office to raise awareness of banking services available at the post office.
"Taking all of this into account, I therefore believe that banking services delivered by the Post Office offers the best solution for community banking.
"Our community bankers in Scotland are building strong relationships with local postmasters therefore in collaboration with the Post Office, we believe that these two services work to ensure that customers can continue to access a full range of services."
Earlier this year a proposed bill was drafted to encourage banks to share premises "rather than completely vacate our rural communities". The move was championed by Plaid Cymru MP Ben Lake who said branch closures were leaving rural communites in a "financial black hole" without access to basic financial services.
Mr McEwan has said the shared premises idea was trialled by a number of banks "but it was not found to be a straightforward or sustainable solution".
READ MORE: RBS boss personally reviewed branch closures
Ten of the closure-threatened RBS branches were given a stay of execution when the bank said they would remain open at least to the end of the year.
The vast majority of the reprieved branches were in communities where there was no other RBS branch within a nine-mile (14km) radius.
The Post Office has claimed 93% of people in the UK live within a mile of their local post office - 99.7% within three miles.
The banks included in the Post Office scheme include: HSBC, First Direct, Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Santander, Smile, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Bank of Ireland, Nationwide, YSB, Barclays, Danske Bank, Ulster Bank, Allied Irish Bank, Virgin money, Co-op Bank, Metrobank, Handelsbanken, Clydesdale Bank, APS, ThinkMoney, First Trust Bank, YorkshireBank and CAF.
A Post Office spokesman said: “We're not closing post offices. Since 2012 we have been investing in our network and as a result our network of 11500 is at its most stable for decades. Branches partnering with successful and sustainable retailers mean post office services will remain at the heart of communities for many years to come, and even the smallest of branches can offer 95% of all post office services.
READ MORE: RBS boss personally reviewed branch closures
"We have been working closely with the banking industry for a number of years supporting communities and small businesses, in fact 99% of people can access their usual high street bank account through every single one of our branches, as can 95% of business customers.
"We offer a range of services, helping customers with their daily cash needs as banks continue to restructure.”
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