A nationwide bank has been accused of “punishing” rural communities by closing one branch and slashing opening hours at others.
TSB in Keith will shut its doors in the coming months while, customers will only be able to access services in Turriff on certain days of the week.
A final list of cuts is yet to be released, but it is understood that Forres is also among the locations affected.
The bank has defended its decision by blaming a drop in the number of people coming through its doors.
And it said affected customers can always visit other branches or sign up to telephone and online banking instead.
While news about the changes has been released internally, it is understood that TSB had been hoping to wait until after Easter to break it to customers.
Linda Gorn, chairwoman of business association United Keith, has branded the bank’s decision an “absolute disgrace.”
She said: “They are just punishing the smaller places.
“A lot of people go to the bank almost every day as part of a routine and TSB just don’t care tuppence about them.
“They’re putting it all online and that’s meant to be the way forward, but as a 70-year-old I feel it’s discriminating against me.”
And Moray MP Douglas Ross has said TSB is failing in its “moral obligation” to serve rural communities.
He said: “This is yet another blow for Keith just months after Bank of Scotland announced they were closing their branch in the town.
“It seems, like other banks, TSB care little about customer care given the decision to close this branch and the shoddy way they are conveying this information to their customers.”
From July, opening hours at the bank’s Turriff branch will be reduced from five days a week to just Tuesdays and Fridays due to a decline in over-the-counter customers.
The move comes just a year after RBS shut its branch in the town.
Ward councillor Alastair Forsyth said: “The branch will remain open, albeit at a much-reduced offering, and one must be thankful it is not closing altogether.”
A TSB spokesman said the move will not result in job losses.
He added: “Our customers use banking services in different ways and that is why we try to adapt our offer to deliver them the best possible service however they choose to bank.
“This means investment in both branches and digital channels.”
