Troubled British bank RBS to close hundreds of branches, sack workers

LONDON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- The British bank RBS bailed out by the government at the height of the financial crisis is close hundreds of branches across the country.

The troubled bank, which is still 71 percent owned by the British government, is expected to close more than 250 branches, and to lose at least 680 jobs.

The bank said in a statement that branch customer totals had fallen since 2014 by 40 percent, while digital mobile transactions have boomed, up by 73 percent.

RBS spokeswoman Linda Harper told Xinhua on Friday: "The closures will take place from next June."

The spokeswoman said that the bank was "replacing traditional bricks and mortar branches with alternative ways to bank".

RBS had closed 30 branches earlier this year, and other British banks, Lloyds and Yorkshire Building Society have also announced branch closures in recent weeks.

Union reaction was critical. Unite, one of the largest unions in Britain, said that the planned closures could be the "end of branch networking" and could "forever change" the nature of banking in Britain

A Unite spokesman told Xinhua: "A decade of slashing jobs has done nothing to boost morale, increase consumer confidence or improve the bank's performance."

The British government bailed out RBS in 2008 when it was threatened with collapse during the financial crisis. Enditem