RBS says it is to cut 792 jobs following a review of its branch network in England and Wales.
The news comes days after the Royal Bank of Scotland reported a 206% rise in profit to £792m in the first quarter of the year.
The lender said the decision was made because it is no longer launching Williams & Glyn as a challenger bank, and therefore now has two branch networks operating in close proximity to each other; NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, in England & Wales.
The Williams & Glyn business will be reintegrated back into RBS.
The FT said that the closures, which come on top of an existing plan announced in December to shut 259 branches, will leave RBS with 849 branches across England, Wales and Scotland – down from just under 2,300 a decade ago.
Ross McEwan, chief executive of RBS, will face MPs on the Scottish affairs committee next week to answer questions about the bank’s plans to close 62 Scottish branches. In response to criticism, the bank said it would delay closure of 10 Scottish branches by a year.
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