The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), part of the NatWest Group, is set to close 18 branches across Scotland, about a fifth of its 86 branches in total.

This equates to a total of 105 job losses, leaving only 69 branches of the bank left in Scotland.

Closures are set to take place accross the hole of Scotland, with three closures planned in Edinburgh and three in Glasgow.

Bathgate, East Kilbride, Helensburgh, Largs, and Abderdeen, will also see closures, while the two banks in Inverness will be created into a new flagship branch in the city.

For the remaining banks, RBS says they will invest over £10m in maintaining them.

More than 80% of active current account holders are using online services, more than ever before, according to the bank.

“While we are increasingly engaging our customers digitally, our branch network remains important to us,” read a statement.

“We are also significantly investing in refreshing our network – we are investing £10.5m in our network across Scotland, from 2023-24, as well as continuing to invest in shared solutions like the Post Office and banking hubs.

“Our customers appreciate the speed and convenience of digital banking for everyday transactions, and often, when it comes to making bigger, more complex decisions they value speaking to our skilled and experienced colleagues.”

Recommended reading

• Bank Branch Closures Risk Leaving Half-a-million Scots Behind
• Over Half Of Scottish Bank Branches Shut Since 2015
• What can be Done About Scotland’s Disappearing Bank Branches?

The RBS branches set to close are:

• Aberdeen St Nicholas
• Bathgate
• Cumbernauld Tay Walk
• Dundee Kingsway Circus
• East Kilbride
• Edinburgh Bruntsfield
• Edinburgh Leith
• Edinburgh Nicolson Street
• Glasgow Cardonald
• Glasgow Charing Cross West
• Glasgow Rutherglen West
• Helensburgh
• Inverness Chief Office
• Inverness Eastgate
• Largs
• New Deer
• Newbridge
• Wishaw

A survey from late last year revealed that Scotland had seen 60% of its bank branches shut since 2015, leaving many who are yet to or unable to transition to online services in the lurch.