THE Ferndown branch of NatWest is set to close later this year, just two months after HSBC announced it would be closing its local bank as well.

 

A total of six NatWest branches across the conurbation are set to be axed as the bank and its parent company Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced more than 150 closures nationwide on Thursday .

 

The other branches set for the chop are Boscombe, Westbourne, Winton, Canford Cliffs and New Milton.

 

 

The decision will affect 30 RBS and 128 NatWest branches and hit around 470 jobs

 

RBS say the closures were forced by a "dramatic shift" in customer banking.

 

The announcement comes just two months after banking giant HSBC announced a string of closures around the UK, with the Ferndown branch in Ringwood Road set to close its doors on Friday, May 12.

 

The NatWest branch, which is located next door to HSBC in Ringwood Road, is closing in October.

 

Ferndown town councillor John Muggleton said the closure would be "a loss to the town".

 

Speaking to the Echo he said: "I know both NatWest and HSBC have been losing custom in the area but it will still be a loss to the town as all closures are.

 

"For a lot of residents in the town I think it will be a big inconvenience for them to lose two major banking facilities."

 

Around 770 staff will be affected by the closures, but 300 will be moved to other jobs.

 

The company said it had considered branch usage and the alternative ways customers can bank.

 

A spokesman said: "We have seen a dramatic shift in the way our customers are choosing to bank, with more using mobile and online over traditional branch counters.

 

"Simple transactions undertaken in branch at NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have fallen by 43 per cent since 2010, while online and mobile transactions have increased by more than 400 per cent."

 

Unite union acting general secretary Gail Cartmail accused RBS, which is majority owned by the public, of "turning its back" on the communities that have been the foundation of its business for generations.

 

She said: "That's bad news for our members who now have to live with the threat of redundancy, and it's bad news for customers and businesses.

 

"Banks have a duty to the wider community and that is especially the case for banks like RBS that have large taxpayer-owned shareholdings.

 

"People like the face-to-face contact that having a physical presence in the high street provides.

 

"Pensioners, people with mobility issues, and those without internet access are being particularly hard-hit, especially in rural areas."