Perthshire town set to lose yet another bank
Clydesdale bank will close in Crieff this summer, meaning residents will only have access to a bank for three days of the week.
Last updated 27th Feb 2020
From June Crieff will no longer have a bank that's open five days a week.
Clydesdale will close this summer, leaving TSB and Bank of Scotland as the only alternatives - which are open just three days a week.
It's the next stage of a merger between Clydesdale and Virgin Money which is causing the closure of dozens of branches.
Over 50 UK stores will close with around 500 jobs being lost.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, Liz Smith, said: "I dealt with the Royal Bank of Scotland when they closed the Comrie bank last year, and it was very clear then that there were a lot of people wanting to bank fairly locally. They therefore thought that Crieff was going to be an opportunity for them but now that is not going to be case.
"I think they'll be very angry and I think there's a concern this is a bit out of the blue, with the other closures there was a bit more time for engagement.
"The timescale is extremely short and I don't think they have the time to engage that they should have had."
Dundee's Virgin Money branch will also close as part of the reshuffle.
Lucy Dimes, Group Business Transformation Officer at Virgin Money UK, said:
“The decision to close branches is never taken lightly. The changes announced today are focused on consolidating branches where there is another Clydesdale Bank / Yorkshire Bank / Virgin Money location within half a mile as well as closing a number of branches to reflect changes to customer demand.
"As our customers change the way they want to bank with us, we are evolving the role of our stores - investing in all of the ways that customers are choosing to bank with us, including a reimagined Virgin Money presence on the high street.
"Following the unveiling of three new Virgin Money stores in December last year, the full rebrand of our national network of 166 stores begins in April and will be completed by September this year.”
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