RBS International will be celebrating the transformation of two of its branches in Douglas, Isle of Man next week (Wednesday, 8th March).

As part of this transformation, the NatWest branch, previously located at the Royal Bank House building in Victoria Street, has re-located to Athol Street.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Chairman, Sir Howard Davies, will be in the Isle of Man on Wednesday to formally open the historic Athol Street branch, which has been carefully and sympathetically modernised, while retaining a number of its historic features. It will follow the formal opening of the re-vamped Regent Street branch by the Honourable Howard Quayle MHK, Chief Minister of the Isle of Man Government.  Accompanying Sir Howard and the Chief Minister at the opening ceremonies will be RBS International CEO, Andrew McLaughlin.  

Events are planned throughout the day at both branches to mark the occasion and customers are invited to attend. Activities planned will include the following:

• All day bank staff will be on hand to provide free financial health checks.
• From 10.00 am at Athol St a local arts and culture exhibition will be open.
• There will be an artisan businesses showcase and free samples with Noa Bakehouse and Freshly Squeezed taking part.
• There’ll be a demonstration and free advice from the St John’s Ambulance
• Additionally, at Athol Street, there will be live music during the day performed by local artists.

As part of this transformation, a number of customer improvements have been implemented including the latest state of the art cash machines, Coin-In machines for our customer to count coins and deposit them free of charge, and a business bag drop, all features designed to reduce queuing and waiting time for customers.

Both Isle of Man branches will have a display of local photographs and you’ll notice the colour scheme has been derived both from the Manx countryside and the Manx tartan.

At Athol Street, a heritage wall has been created to tell the story of the branch’s history and association with Douglas. The grand dome area has been opened up and the barriers between staff and customers removed, allowing customers to do business in a brighter, more open environment. There is also a disabled access ramp entrance which will allow better access to the branch.

“This investment highlights the bank’s commitment to the Isle of Man in the long term, and its determination to evolve and upgrade the services provided to our customers.

We’re delighted to welcome both the Chairman of RBS and the Chief Minister to formally open our newly transformed branches at Athol Street and Regent Street.”

As part of the transformation, the ornate banking counter has been removed and donated to the Friends of the Gaiety Theatre, who intend to incorporate it into their front of house areas as part of their ongoing refurbishment plans.