BOSSES at the taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have refused reconsider controversial branch closures or to rule out further shutdowns, despite stinging criticism from MPs.

Les Matheson, RBS chief executive of personal and business banking, told Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee, which was discussing its decision to close 62 branches in Scotland, the closures would go ahead.

Matheson – whose pay package from the bank last year was £1.2 million – admitted RBS could afford to back down, and said that although there were no plans for further closures, that could change through technological advances and changes in customer behaviour.

He said the closures would save the bank £9.5m, which was “not a significant amount of money”.

Committee chairman Pete Wishart said: “I don’t think I have ever exper-ienced such an overwhelming neg-ative response to a single issue in my 17 years as a Member of Parliament.

“I think what’s also disappointing is your defiant response to this, where you are singularly saying you are refusing to reconsider any of these closures which is going down particularly badly in a number of rural areas.”

Labour’s Danielle Rowley raised the £45 billion taxpayer bail-out RBS received during the financial crash, asking: “Where is the gratitude ... as a thank you to our communities?”

Matheson responded: “We understand the support that the bank has had and clearly we appreciate that, but again, we have to take account of changes that are happening.”

RBS was offering people a greater variety of ways to bank, he said, through post offices, mobile vans and new community bankers, as well as online and in remaining branches.

“We understand that customers are concerned about the change, that customers find change difficult, and we are committed to helping them through that process, and we have lots of ways of doing that.”

Wishart later described as “unsatisfactory” the appearance of Matheson and Jane Howard, RBS managing director of personal banking, and said the committee had been left “disappointed and frustrated”.

The SNP MP said: “It is abundantly clear that RBS did not consult with anyone over their plan to close a third of their branches. They do not seem to appreciate just how devastating the loss of a bank can be to a local community, and quite how important easy access to banking services is to individuals and businesses.

“Nor do they appear to have any intention to reconsider their position despite the views expressed by local people, or by the witnesses we heard from today – Scottish Rural Action, Unite Scotland and Scottish Chambers of Commerce.

“Instead they could not rule out further branch closures. We should not forget that this is a company whose very survival was assured by £45bn from taxpayers, who still own a 70 per cent stake.

“At a minimum, RBS needs to show greater care for their customers and more openness in how they reach decisions that have such serious consequences for so many people.

“As a committee we will carefully consider what we have heard today and may take further steps.”

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, meanwhile, is writing to RBS chief executive Ross McEwan, inviting him to visit branches set for closure in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, to see their consequences.

They include Mallaig, Kyle of Lochalsh and Beauly.

A number of people turned up to raise their concerns about the plans with Blackford and MSP Kate Forbes.

“RBS are making these closure decisions based on flawed figures, claiming that Mallaig for instance, had very few regular users,” Blackford said.

“This is not just about closures of bank branches, but the knock-on effects on the communities they serve, and I will continue to push Ross McEwan and this Tory Government to reverse the decision. Perhaps if Ross McEwan actually visited each of our threatened branches he would appreciate the vital role they have in the communities they serve and are far from being just a commercial matter.”

Last night it emerged that McEwan will be hauled in front of MPs later this month to answer questions on the lender’s treatment of small businesses after yet more damning details of the scandal were revealed.

The Treasury Select Committee confirmed he will appear alongside chairman Sir Howard Davies on January 30 for a grilling on the bank’s controversial Global Restructuring Group (GRG).

It comes after McEwan was asked by committee chairwoman Nicky Morgan to disclose previously unpublished memos, one of which allegedly reveals that staff were encouraged to extract money from struggling small businesses.