Bank bosses have been urged to rethink their decision to close yet more branches across the north of Scotland.
Lloyds Banking Group has announced a total of 60 branches – 24 Lloyds, 19 Bank of Scotland and 17 Halifax – will close later this year.
In a further blow to the north and north-east’s high street – which has been badly hit by closures in recent years – six Bank of Scotlands will go.
This includes the one in Forres – the town’s last bank. Customers will instead need to travel 10 miles to Nairn or Elgin.
Moray MP Douglas Ross accused Lloyds of “abandoning” the vulnerable and elderly – and dismissed Lloyds suggestion that customers can go digital due to poor broadband in the region.
‘Unacceptable and a dereliction of duty to loyal customers’
However, Mr Ross said this will be yet another blow to customers who struggle to use the digital services and called the decision “unacceptable” and a “dereliction to duty”.
He added: “Broadband and mobile connections are not reliable in rural and remote parts of Moray so online services from banks are no substitute for a local branch, and many customers still prefer carrying out banking services face-to-face.”
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead called the situation “ridiculous” and said: “The closure of the last bank in the town is devastating for Forres and will leave many people without access to much needed services.
“We’re getting to the point where Elgin is the only place left with branches open, which is a ridiculous situation for us to be in.
“It seems the rules in place to ensure communities have access to cash aren’t worth much if banks are allowed to go ahead and close the last bank in a town like Forres.”
The Forres branch will shut on July 11.
Sleepwalking to a ‘cashless society’
The Dyce branch will close its doors on July 5, with Alness also slated to shut on July 27.
Stromness will lose its bank of Scotland on August 17, while Bank of Scotland at 201 Union Street in Aberdeen will close on September 14.
North East MSP Douglas Lumsden said: “Aberdeen is sleepwalking into a cashless society with the elderly and most vulnerable left behind.
“Bank users are being short changed by these constant closures which are having a drastic impact on the city.”
Gordon MP Richard Thomson has also condemned Bank of Scotland’s decision, saying there is a desperate need of a permanent solution to banks withdrawing their services.
Communities across the north have already been hit hard by banks and Post Offices shutting, with bank giant TSB also having announced a raft of closures last year.
Forres, Fort William, Ellon and Thurso will lose all of their TSB branches in April – just months after another 17 sites in the area shut their doors for the final time.
