CONSERVATIVE councillors have called on the Royal Bank of Scotland to live up to its responsibilities and protect its local services across South Lanarkshire.
It follows an announcement RBS bosses will shut seven branches in the area.
Vulnerable residents and rural and remote communities will be hit hard by the closures, which will see some people forced to travel significant distances to visit a branch.
A full meeting of South Lanarkshire Council today (Wednesday 6 December) saw the area's Conservative Group help form a cross-party alliance against the closures.
It meant the authority was unanimous in condemning the move.
Councillor Alex Allison is the leader of South Lanarkshire’s Conservative Group and an elected member for Clydesdale East.
He said: “It is outrageous for RBS to show such staggering disregard for its customers who rely on being able to access a local branch.
“Banking is a vital service and RBS is a huge institution. It has a responsibility to ensure everyone has reasonable access to a branch, but these closures will make that incredibly difficult for many of our residents.
“Many older people and others are not comfortable with internet banking and need a face-to-face service. They will really struggle to travel much greater distances to another branch.
“Parents with young children, carers and those with mobility issues will also be hit hard if RBS pulls out of their community."
In Clydesdale the RBS branches in Biggar, Carnwath, Douglas and Lesmahagow are all set to be scrapped.
Branches in Hamilton’s Cadzow Street, Larkhall and Strathaven will also go as the company slashes its presence in communities throughout the UK.
The seven South Lanarkshire branches are among 62 across Scotland to be closed by RBS, which will also shut 197 of its NatWest branded premises in England and Wales.
It is not clear how many local jobs will be lost. The move will see an estimated 680 redundancies across the UK, including 165 in Scotland.
Cllr Allison continued: “These closures will be a massive loss to South Lanarkshire as a whole and there is a disproportionate impact on rural and remote communities, with four branches closing in Clydesdale.
“RBS needs to think again, consider the impact on its customers, and recognise its responsibility to our communities.”