'Astonishing' - Glasgow North East is down to its last bank in mass Scots branch closures

It comes as new analysis produced exclusively for the Herald on Sunday by the consumer organisation Which? reveals that nearly half (47%) of the over 1000 bank branches in Scotland in 2015 will have shut by next year.

Figures reveal that Scotland is the region of the UK that will have suffered worst from the cuts suffering the highest proportion of closures.

The north west of England and Wales are seeing 44% of their branches go, while the south west of England are seeing 43% axed. Areas of the UK that were least affected were London and Northern Ireland where there was a 30% cut, while the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man remain unaffected.

Details have emerged as it has been confirmed that beleaguered Edinburgh-based bank group TSB will have shut over two in three of its Scottish branches over the same period.

READ MORE: One in four ATMs now charge Scots customers to withdraw cash

Which? has raised concerns that the depth of the closures to hit Scotland will present a challenge to rural communities and vulnerable consumers in particular.

It has called for the intervention of the financial regulator to ensure these decisions are not cutting people adrift.

And the leading charity for older people Age Scotland has called for a rethink describing the latest figures as "astonishing".

The Springburn TSB branch in Glasgow North East is set to shut

The analysis of 59 of Scotland's parliamentary constituencies, shows that the 1039 branches that there were at the start of 2015 will will be slashed to 547 by the end of 2021 - with the latest round of cuts.

Worst hit have been areas already hit hard by the closure of cash machines across the country.

It means that Glasgow North East - one of the most deprived constituencies in the UK - will see the number of bank branches cut from eight to just one. Last week TSB said it would close more than half of its existing Scottish branches and cut around 300 jobs, blaming "a significant shift in customer behaviour" as more customers bank online.

Branches due to close include those in some of Scotland's most deprived areas.

And they include two in Glasgow North East in Springburn and Dennistoun.

It is understood that the only remaining branch in the area after the TSB closure will be the Bank of Scotland in Riddrie.

Down to its last two bank branches the neighbouring constituency of Glasgow North West which had nine in 2015 and will have only two next year.

Worst hit constituencies include Linlithgow and East Falkirk which has seen three out of four of its 16 bank branches disappear, North And Arran which has gone from 23 to seven, Edinburgh East which has dropped from 18 to five, Paisley and Renfrewshire North which has five of its original 14 and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath with a third of the 18 it had in 2015.

The only area to come out of the six years unscathed is Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) which has lots none of its nine bank branches.

Which? says that it all means that Scotland will be the part of the UK with the highest number of branches closed - across all banks - at the end of 2021.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: "Scotland has been hit hard by branch closures in the last five years, with hundreds closing their doors across the country. This trend presents a considerable problem for rural communities and vulnerable consumers, who may be left with nowhere else to turn to carry out essential banking tasks.

“The financial regulator needs to keep a particularly close eye on how banks take closure decisions in rural areas where there is poor internet service or transport links, to ensure that large numbers of people are not cut off from essential banking services." The analysis also reveals that 71 (43%) of the latest 164 TSB branch closures will be in Scotland.

Which? says that by the end of 2021, TSB will have closed 67% of its branches in Scotland since 2015.

Anne McLaughlin, the SNP MP for Glasgow North East is to meet with TSB executives raising concerns about the closure of the Dennistoun and Springburn branches.

"Both of these communities are working really hard to regenerate the areas in different ways and the banks should be part of it, not part of the problem," she said.

"In Springburn for instance, the Springburn Regeneration Forum, now Spirit of Springburn has worked with people living in the community to come up with a blueprint of the future Springburn they’d like to see.

"Even better they’ve started making it a reality. Springburn will be a fantastic thriving community to be part of but every time somebody withdraws from the area and people have to go elsewhere for essential services, it makes it that much harder.

The Dennistoun TSB branch is for the chop

"In Dennistoun I was at a meeting organised by Ivan McKee MSP just last night (Thursday) for a meeting of traders in the area. The community, and I live there, is very much a community which is why we were named [by Time Out] as the eighth coolest place in the world to live and now the businesses are coming together with them to ensure that the special atmosphere we’ve created here filters through every shop and business in the area too. Just as we’re all coming together, the TSB joins a long list of banks that’s pulling out.

"These banks have made plenty of money from the communities in my constituency, they should remember that. Lots of parts of Glasgow NE are classed as deprived and we all know the more financially deprived, the more costly banking is.

"I will be inviting them to be part of the regeneration of both of these areas rather than the opposite."

Age Scotland chief executive Brian Sloan said: “Bank branches in Scotland have been closing at a rate of knots over the last decade, leaving older and more vulnerable customers cut off from vital services and access to their finances.

"The sheer determination from banks to move customers on to digital services, regardless of whether this is right or even feasible for them, will make managing money and accessing cash increasingly difficult for hundreds of thousands of older people, particularly those on low incomes and with no access to the internet.

“It’s deeply disappointing to see banks failing to protect the needs and interests of their older customers. This systematic closure programme is leading to banking deserts opening up, and a digital by default society that risks driving wider financial exclusion.

“It is not progress when you leave those most in need behind.

“It’s time for banks to be bold and think big about how best to serve their customers rather than taking the easy route of closing branches. Instead, they should create shared banking hubs in communities, where they come together under one roof, share the costs and provide a good service to their customers who need them.

"It is astonishing to think that there will soon be half the number of banks in our communities than there were in 2015."

Source: Which?

Analysis last year of the closure of cash machines in Scotland over 12 months found that Glasgow North had been worst hit with one in four free ATMs disappearing, followed by Glasgow North West where there had been a 22% drop.

The nation lost 158 free-to-use cash machines in the space of just one month at the end of 2019 with 120 of them charging customers for the right to withdraw their money.

 READ MORE: Is your TSB closing? Full list of 73 Scots branches shutting as campaign groups protest

At the end of 2019 there were 4437 free-to-use ATMs in Scotland – a loss of nearly 1000 in two years. Meanwhile there were 1420 charging ATMs – a rise of nearly 500 over two years.

In June, last year former financial ombudsman Natalie Ceeney told The Herald that Britain was “sleepwalking” into a cash-free society it is ill-prepared for, and warned millions of people would be left disadvantaged as a result.

In August, last year MPs told ministers that consumers should have an access-to-cash guarantee and a legal right to have a bank branch in their town if their is no voluntary commitment.

A report on access to cash from the Scottish Affairs Committee also called for government intervention to prevent any further cuts to fees payable by banks to ATM operators – seen as a key reason why cash machines have either disappeared or started charging consumers to withdraw their money.

Last month it emerged that Scotland is at the centre of a new initiative to provide free cash withdrawals in shops without a purchase as part of new plans to improve access to cash across the UK.

This month marks the start of a new million pound pilot initiative which will allow consumers to withdraw cash from PayPoint terminals in shops without paying a fee.

Starting in October 2020 and forming part of the Community Access to Cash Pilots, the trial will initially be piloted in 15 shops across Cambuslang, Lanarkshire; Denny Burslem in Staffordshire and Hay-on-Wye in Breconshire.