Portsmouth and Fareham branches of Royal Bank of Scotland to close

It means that staff from the Portsmouth and Fareham will be among the 792 job losses across the two countries.

The Fareham branch, which is in West Street, will close on August 7 and the Portsmouth branch in Edinburgh Road on November 13.

The bank, which is still 72 per cent owned by the taxpayer, said the closures were due to the branches previously being earmarked for conversion to the failed brand Williams & Glyn.

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

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.’

Last year, RBS avoided the compulsory sale of Williams & Glyn, which had been ordered by regulators as part of the bank’s obligations under state aid rules following its £45 billion Government bailout at the height of the financial crisis.

Instead, RBS will put up money to be shared among so-called ‘challenger banks’ to help them better compete with bigger players.

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.