U.K. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell urged the British government to use its majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to force the lender to halt its plan to shut down several of its branches, The Guardian reported May 30.
RBS had earlier announced plans to close 162 branches and cut 792 jobs, citing overlapping branch networks in England and Wales and an increase in mobile banking. CEO Ross McEwan had said the bank — which subsequently outlined plans to shutter up to 62 branches in Scotland — could close more branches due to client transfers from its Williams & Glyn unit.
McEwan has defended the planned closures, saying the bank must cater to the increasing number of customers that prefer to use digital banking and payment services.
