Bank bosses urged to grant 'stay of execution' for Thurso TSB branch
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A Highland councillor is calling on TSB to grant a "stay of execution" for its branch in Thurso which is scheduled for closure this spring.
Councillor Matthew Reiss questioned the rationale behind the decision and again urged bank bosses to examine their social conscience, pointing out that some customers make a 50-mile journey from north-west Sutherland to do their banking in the town.
The independent councillor for Thurso and Northwest Caithness was informed in December that the branch in Traill Street was down to one regular weekly customer before the closure plan was announced. He has been seeking clarification over the "specific metric" on which that figure was based.
TSB announced in November that it will shut its Thurso premises in April as part of plans to axe 70 branches across the UK.
The bank says there has been declining branch use and increasing numbers of customers switching to digital banking. TSB will provide a "pop-up" service in Thurso one day a week.
In an email this week to Andrew McIntyre, the bank's senior communications manager for Scotland, Councillor Reiss wrote: "I am so concerned by the loss of your branch here. You may not know but it serves a vast remote hinterland as far away as Tongue and further west on the north coast.
"I have been told of elderly customers who regularly travel in to Thurso, about 50 miles along part single-track roads, to do their banking at the TSB. I suspect they will have been loyal to you for years.
"I am happy to articulate this important message further but, for now, could I simply implore you to grant a stay of execution? The specific metric is not a reliable indicator for our area, the most remote and rural anywhere in the UK, as most customers will not travel long distances in the winter months every week, but organise their affairs to incorporate less travel.
"As a former police officer I can assure you that winter travel can be challenging here, especially for community minibus type vehicles that are popular here with those on low incomes or not owning a car of their own. I do hope you will consider your social conscience."
Mr McIntyre had stated: "The 'regular customer' measure is a specific metric used by the entire industry to measure vulnerable customers who rely on an individual branch. A regular customer is therefore someone who used the branch 48 out of 52 weeks of the year.
"Most banks include this figure in their impact assessment forms to give an indicator of the number of vulnerable customers who use the branch.
"We measured the decline in branch usage using transaction data. In Thurso, transactions have fallen by 48 per cent, compared to 28 per cent across the network."
Mr McIntyre pointed out that the planned pop-up facility "will provide customers with face-to-face banking in Thurso one day per week".
The Thurso closure means there will no longer be a TSB branch in Caithness after the bank pulled out of Wick in March last year.
Ross Gurdin, TSB's government affairs manager, told Councillor Reiss in an email at the end of November: "As more customers choose to shop and bank online, we have seen a 28 per cent reduction in average branch transactions across the TSB network since January 2019. And there is no prospect of these returning to pre-Covid levels.
"Thurso branch customer transactions have fallen by 48 per cent over the same period and there is currently one customer using the branch on a regular weekly basis."
Related stories:
- Shock for Thurso as TSB announces branch closure plan
- Thurso TSB branch reduced to 'one regular weekly customer', say bank bosses
- Call from Thurso Community Council to fight the planned closure of TSB branch in the town
