A GIRVAN bank’s decision to slash its opening hours as part of a national shake-up is a “slap in the face to customers”, according to a councillor.

TSB in Dalrymple Street will only open for just two days a week as part of the banking giant’s cost-cutting measures.

Last week the the bank revealed most of its Scottish branches will only open for two or three days a week from July.

The Girvan branch will only be open on Tuesdays and Fridays between 9.30am and 4.30pm.

Councillor Alec Clark blasted the decision to reduce the bank’s opening hours. He said: “They called me to tell me they would be reducing the hours and closing the bank a few days a week. I was disappointed to say the least.

“They say it’s because of a rise in online banking and people using phone apps, but they are the ones who encourage people to bank that way then they churn out the figures to say less people are using the branch. When RBS closed in Girvan, TSB told people to swap over their accounts to them because they still had a branch in the town and a lot of people did.

I’m sure this will feel like a slap in the face to them.

anyone who relies on their local branch this is a huge blow.”

The changes will apply to 71 sites in Scotland and 22 in England.

In addition, four Scottish branches are being closed - in Edinburgh, at Haymarket and Fountain bridge, Aberdeen’s Holburn Street branch, and another in Keith, Moray.

TSB has promised there will be no job losses as a result of the shake-up this summer.

The bank has set out figures showing the fall in branch visits by customers, while there has been a sharp increase in the use of online and phone banking, and visits to alternative branches.

In a statement on its website, TSB said it “remains committed to having a strong branch network”, adding “there will also be no job losses as a result of these changes, with all partners in the closing branches being offered roles inother nearby branches”.