Royal Bank of Scotland’s 81-year relationship with a north-east town ended yesterday after the branch doors were closed for the last time.
The lender has axed the facility in Banff, arguing that more customers were banking online than visiting their High Street outlet.
Branches in Dyce, Ellon and Turriff will all go the same way in the coming weeks.
However, the decision has sparked outrage and activists rallied alongside the Press and Journal’s Save Our Banks campaign in a bid to reverse the decision.
Yesterday, customers carried out their final transactions and closed their accounts at a branch which first opened in 1937.
One woman, who used to work at the bank, said it had left her “devastated.”
She added: “It is the end of an era.”
RBS Bank closures across the north of Scotland
Ken Tarnell, 84, from Macduff said the workers at the bank had always been helpful to him during his 36 years as a customer.
He added: “The staff are just marvellous. I have got a bad memory and tend to forget, but if I leave my card there, they always make sure I take it.
“I think I have been a customer in the branch since 1982 and it is a shame.
“But this is progress or so they tell us.”
Macduff taxi driver John Thompson claimed it was “stupid” for RBS to shut their Banff facility.
He said: “It is a big loss because I have got my business and personal accounts here.
“The bank has been here for years and it is just stupid to close such a busy branch.”
Banff and district councillor Glen Reynolds regularly campaigned and launched a petition against the closure.
He said: “There is a lack of humanity in what is happening here; no proper consultation, inadequate and mobile banking fast-tracked to limit damage.
“For us, the battle goes on. We shall be making the same points to RBS shareholders outside of the AGM in Edinburgh on May 30.”
RBS responded it had decided to close the branch because it only had 59 weekly customers.
It also confirmed three staff members would be redeployed and a fourth had opted for voluntary redundancy.
A mobile banking service will begin in Banff next week at Old Market Place on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.
Bank of Scotland and TSB still have branches in the town.
