Fresh blow to the High Street as NatWest warns of even more branch closures

NatWest has revealed that even more branch closures are on the cards as a senior executive said it would not need ‘anything like’ its current number.

The comments by the state-backed bank’s finance director Katie Murray will come as a fresh blow to the High Street as it faces losing more local branches.

And it will do little to win back sympathy for the bank’s leadership as they seek to recover from the de-banking controversy that forced boss Dame Alison Rose to step down.

Earlier this month it was revealed that Rose would lose £7.6million in payouts after the row over the closure of ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage’s account, which resulted in her resignation earlier this year.

NatWest remains 39 per cent owned by taxpayers after it was rescued – under its previous name of Royal Bank of Scotland – during the financial crisis.

Last week, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed that the Government aimed to sell the shares to the public in a bid to reignite the appetite for investing that was previously seen in the 1980s.

Like most other lenders, NatWest has inflicted savage cuts on its branch network in recent years. 

Campaigners say this leaves elderly and vulnerable customers, who struggle to get grips with the technology, in the lurch.

But yesterday, Murray indicated that there were even cuts more to come, telling the FT global banking summit: ‘Branches will always be important but we just don’t need anything like the number that we have.’

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director, said: ‘The disappearance of face-to-face banking risks cutting a significant minority of the older population out of an essential service, making it difficult if not impossible for them to manage their money and maintain their independence.’

A NatWest spokesman said: ‘We take our responsibility seriously to support the people who face challenges in moving online, so we are investing to provide them with support and alternatives that work for them.’