Scottish Parliament has called for a meeting with John Stewart, chief executive of National Australia Group at the bank’s headquarters in Glasgow to express MSPs concerns over the decision to close 100 branches of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, according to banking and finance union Amicus.
Members debated Paul Martin MSPs motion condemning the closures following a briefing meeting with Amicus. During a recent debate in the Scottish Parliament, MSPs expressed their anger at the bank’s failure to inform and consult with them on the closure of branches in their constituencies.
One hundred Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank branches are set to close in a program announced in May, which the union say will affect hundreds of jobs and have a devastating impact on rural communities where the branch is the last bank in town. Amicus says the bank is recruiting MPs and MSPs to fight the closures.
Amicus has organized a motion in the Scottish Parliament against the NAG Banks’ closure program and a separate meeting of MPs at Westminster today to talk about the impact of Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank closures on their members and communities.
National Australia Group Bank plans on closing branches in Dunlop, Kincardine-on-Forth, Larbert and Tayport in which NAB is the last bank in town, according to the union.
The bank have already announced the first phase closure of 22 branches, A further 78 Clydesdale and Yorkshire branches earmarked for closure are to be announced imminently. In the debate, MSPs Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) and Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) were especially scathing of the bank’s closure plan, according to Amicus.