THE Royal Bank of Scotland is to close 18 branches north of the border in a move that threatens more than 100 jobs.

And the cuts come despite record profits of £6.2 billion being made by its parent company Natwest.

The closures, representing 20 per cent of RBS’s branch network in Scotland, were condemned by union Unite as a “massive blow” to the workforce.

Unite industrial officer Esther O’Hara said: “The Natwest Group, which owns RBS, is an extremely profitable bank with its latest pre-tax profits rising by 20 per cent to £6.2bn last year.”

Natwest was one of the banks bailed out by taxpayers during the 2008 financial crash.

Ms O’Hara said: “It remains a bank which the taxpayer still owns by around 35 per cent, yet there is very little return for the public and no regard for the workforce and the customers the bank is supposed to serve.”

The bank said most new customers use digital banking and refused to rule out compulsory redundances.