Thurso TSB branch reduced to 'one regular weekly customer', say bank bosses
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TSB bosses calculated that their Thurso branch was down to "one regular weekly customer" before announcing its closure, it has emerged.
The comment was made in an email to local Highland councillor Matthew Reiss, who is seeking clarification on how the measure was arrived at.
Councillor Reiss is calling on the bank to show it has a "social conscience" and reconsider its decision to pull out of the town.
TSB announced last month that it will close its Traill Street premises in April 2022 as part of plans to axe 70 branches across the UK. It means there will no longer be a TSB branch in Caithness after the bank pulled out of Wick in March this year.
The bank says there has been declining branch use and increasing numbers of customers switching to digital banking services. TSB will provide a "pop-up" service in Thurso one day a week.
Ross Gurdin, TSB's government affairs manager, told Councillor Reiss in an email on November 30: "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.
"Customers at the branch already bank with us in a variety of ways: 63 per cent of the branch’s personal banking customers and 80 per cent of business customers are now using mobile, online or telephone banking. In addition, 72 per cent of personal banking customers and 85 per cent of business customers use another TSB branch, mobile, online and telephone banking."
Councillor Reiss, who represents Thurso and Northwest Caithness on Highland Council, replied on December 7 saying he had been making enquiries about "this incredibly disappointing news, especially for those who are not familiar with online services".
He raised concerns over the pop-up facility and the fact that Thurso is 110 miles from Inverness.
Councillor Reiss asked the bank to take account of the “welfare” aspect of local customers. "Your bank provides a warm, friendly service and there is scepticism about the assertion that there is only one regular customer who attends weekly," he wrote.
On December 16 he received a reply from Andrew McIntyre, TSB's senior communications manager for Scotland.
Mr McIntyre said the pop-up service is "designed to provide a level of face-to-face banking in areas where it is a significant distance to another branch".
He continued: "We appreciate your concerns regarding distance to another TSB and that is why we plan to introduce a pop-up. We also ensure there are sufficient free-to-use ATMs and that there is access to a post office where our customers can carry out a number of everyday banking tasks.
"I would also stress that when identifying branches for closure we have not closed any where the TSB branch is the last [bank] branch in the area. We have identified that there are three alternative branches within three miles for the closing TSB branch and we will help our customers switch to an alternative provider if they are unhappy with the support measures we have put in place.
"I can confirm that there is one regular weekly customer. This is a specific metric defined by the Lending Standards Board [the primary self-regulatory body for the banking and lending industry] and is designed to identify those who are particularly reliant on the branch.
"However, the 48 per cent fall in transactions does demonstrate that the branch is far less busy than a typical branch."
Councillor Reiss replied the following day, telling Mr McIntyre: "I urge you to reconsider the implications of your withdrawal from this far-flung corner of the UK. If TSB has a social conscience please, with respect, could you reconsider. We may be a small town but we need every job that is available... and Inverness is 110 miles away."
In a follow-up email, Councillor Reiss asked for details of the “specific metric” Mr McIntyre had referred to.
Councillor Reiss said this week: “It's quite likely that most of the people around the boardroom tables and the accountants who make these decisions are unfamiliar with the implications of these closures.
“It would be quite a proud boast for TSB to say they have a branch in the most northerly town on the UK mainland.
“It's another example of centralisation. It is normally used in political terms but it's not just in politics, it's also in the commercial world.”
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