A Wigan branch of RBS is among hundreds of banks set to close

RBS has today announced hundreds of branch closures

The Ince branch of RBS is one of 162 of the banks to close across England and Wales, which will result in almost 800 job losses.

The Standish branch, in High Street, has survived the cull but has seen its opening times reduced to just three days a week, on Monday, Tuesday and Friday between 10am-4pm.

The lender, still 72% owned by the taxpayer, said the move was linked to it not having to sell its Williams & Glyn business.

The Standish branch of RBS will remain open

As a result, the group has branches in close proximity to each other and is seeking to reduce overlap.

The closures will come as RBS reintegrates Williams & Glyn, including its branch network, back into the core bank.

A total of 109 branches will close in late July and August 2018. These branches are within 0.6 miles of another Royal Bank of Scotland or NatWest branch, the group said.

A further 53 branches will close in November 2018, all of which are between 0.6 and 2.5 miles of another Royal Bank of Scotland or NatWest branch.

RBS said: “Following a review of the branch network in England and Wales a decision has been taken to close 162 Royal Bank of Scotland branches.

“As a result of this process, around 792 roles will be made redundant, and we will seek to support our colleagues with the option to leave on a voluntary basis.”

Since 2014, in-branch transactions across its English and Welsh operations have dropped 30 per cent.