Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government notes the decision from NatWest Group to close 18 Royal Bank of Scotland branches this year which continues a trend seen across the banking sector. Scottish Ministers are fully aware of the negative impact this will have on affected communities – particularly for small businesses and vulnerable or digitally excluded consumers given the challenges they can face in accessing alternative banking services.

The regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government and they recently legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to grant the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) greater powers to protect access to cash across the UK. The FCA launched a consultation on a proposed new regulatory framework for access to cash which the Scottish Government formally responded to earlier this year. I will be meeting with Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the FCA, on 26 June to continue the dialogue begun by my colleague, Neil Gray, to further consider their proposed access to cash plans and ensure the cash access and banking requirements of Scotland’s communities are articulated, understood and addressed.

The Scottish Government have also sought to engage directly with the banking sector in Scotland on the future of the in-person cash and banking services they provide. Through this engagement we have agreement in-principle from several of the major banks in Scotland to attend a Scottish Government hosted cross-party roundtable on access to cash and banking services. This will take place on 4 June and we have now issued invites to all political parties and stakeholders across the Scottish financial services sector. I am confident that this will provide a constructive forum between the Scottish Government, elected representatives and the financial services sector to fully understand the impacts of a declining branch network on Scottish communities, and find collaborative ways to ensure there are long-term sustainable solutions to protect access to cash and physical banking services.