MP demands meeting with TSB over Fife branch closures

Kirkcaldy’s MP has demanded an urgent meeting with TSB bosses to discuss the future of local branches after a raft of closures were announced yesterday.

Three branches in Neale Hanvey’s Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency are set to shut next year.

They are Templehall in Kirkcaldy, Burntisland and Cowdenbeath.

Mr Hanvey said the closures “made a mockery of the TSB’s claim that it was different from the big five banks because it would never take its customers for granted.”

He also branded the announcement “terrible news for customers.”

Mr Hanvey has written to the bank - which has announced 73 branch closures across Scotland - seeking an urgent meeting to discuss a way forward for the local branches and staff.

He said: “More people use online banking now, but nearly all of us have a reason to go into a branch from time-to-time.

“And branches are often the only places older and more vulnerable people in our community feel comfortable dealing with their money.”

Seven TSB branches across Fife to close

He added: “That may be harder to quantify than a handy little stat that shows the shift to digital banking, but that customer need is no less real.

“This decision makes a mockery of the TSB’s claim that it was different from the big five banks because it would never take its customers for granted.”

Mr Hanvey said the bank must have a plan to re-allocate the staff affected by the closures, and added: “It is simply not acceptable to put these jobs at risk during the current coronavirus crisis.

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