Called to account

Determination, innovation and responsibility should be by-words for Royal Bank of Scotland executives in their quest to restore the institution to profitability and, ultimately, independence from the taxpayer.

But its plan to prevent some account holders from withdrawing cash from non-RBS machines is foolish and retrograde (your report, 18 August). It does not make any sense in terms of public relations and attempts to convince us that banks have customer needs at their very heart.

There should be no return to the days of charging for this most convenient form of allowing people access to their own money. Driving or even walking around to find a cash machine is often a humiliating and frustrating experience. Is this the sort of way RBS and possibly other banks hope to restore confidence in their general approach?

The banking bail-out of 2008 was justified by the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling partly on the grounds of social convenience. It would be completely unacceptable for individuals to find suddenly that their salaries and pensions could not be paid, or that ATM withdrawals could not be carried out.

So this is an important issue. It is not just a matter of ensuring that people who do not have bank accounts have an incentive to start one. It is about the whole reputation of the banking system which can only be restored by a back-to-basics approach that ensures customers feel comfortable with all its operations.

BOB Taylor

Shiel Court

Glenrothes