RBS to close 162 branches in England and Wales
The lender, still 72 per cent owned by the taxpayer, said the move was linked to its decision not to sell its Williams & Glyn business.
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Hide AdAs a result, the group has branches in close proximity to another and is seeking to reduce overlap.
RBS said: “Following a review of the branch network in England and Wales a decision has been taken to close 162 Royal Bank of Scotland branches.
“As a result of this process, around 792 roles will be made redundant, and we will seek to support our colleagues with the option to leave on a voluntary basis.”
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Hide AdAn RBS spokesperson said: “We are no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank, and we now have two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other - NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland - in England & Wales.
“As a result we have had to review our overall branch footprint in England and Wales and we’ve made the difficult decision to close a number of Royal Bank of Scotland branches. Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland in England & Wales will be able to use NatWest branches instead for their everyday banking needs.
“We now provide our customers with more ways to bank with us than ever before - customers can choose from a range of digital, face-to-face and local options to suit their needs.”