Easter Ross bank set for the axe; Tain branch slated for closure in June 2020
A major bank has become the latest to announce plans to pull the plug on a branch in Ross-shire.
The TSB will close its branch in Tain in June next year – one of 17 across Scotland being axed as part of a "reshaping" of its network.
The bank made the announcement as it launched its three-year strategic plan as part of moves "to ensure it meets the changing needs of customers".
A statement issued by the bank said: "Closing branches is always a difficult decision with changes impacting people and communities. To help address this, TSB is launching a range of new initiatives to help impacted customers with the transition."
It has given estimated closure dates and said it will provide full details to customers impacted in due course.
The bank says it acquired a large network of branches from Lloyds Banking Group is 2013, with TSB holding twice as many branches per 10,000 customers than competitors. But it said that as customer behaviour continues to change, it has "made TSB’s network difficult to sustain".
A statement said: "Today, a significant number of TSB branches have low customer numbers and transactions are decreasing year on year. In the last two years alone, TSB has seen branch transactions drop by 17 per cent as customers increasingly choose to bank online or by phone.
"In deciding which branches to close TSB conducted a detailed review and analysis of its current network, including its usage, proximity to alternative branches, the needs of vulnerable customers and the accessibility of alternative services such as free to use ATMs and the Post Office."
Tain-based Jamie Stone, a candidate for the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter ross seat, said: "This closure is another in the long list of bank closures in the Highlands and highlights the banking crisis we face in the Far North. We need banks and the Post Office to work together to provide joint branches which would give customers face-to-face advice and the ability to accept case and cheques, regardless of which bank you are actually with."
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