The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed the loss of 500 jobs in its wealth management division, which will includeIT workers.
The bank claimed the job losses which will take place over the next three years would fund "a major investment in processes and technology" in the division.
Although RBS admitted the reduction in headcount was "unfortunate," it said the result would be "better service and a wider choice for our clients."
RBS-owned companies confirmed to be affected are Coutts & Co, RBS Coutts and Adam & Company.
The bank, which is 84 per cent owned by the state, last month announced 2,600 job cuts in its insurance division but had claimed IT workers were safe as they came under the RBS Group banner.
However, today a spokesperson for the bank told IT PRO that backroom staff could lose their jobs in this latest round, although she couldn't give a breakdown of the exact numbers that could be for the chop.
An RBS statement said: "We are working hard to rebuild RBS in order to repay taxpayers for their support and having to cut jobs is the most difficult part of this process. We will do all we can to support our staff through this process and to keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum."
Rob MacGregor, the national officer at the Unite Union, which represents workers at the bank, criticised the reasons given for the cuts.
"Unite does not believe that the introduction of, and investment in, new technology should go hand-in-hand with the shedding of jobs," he said in a statement. "Instead RBS should focus on ensuring that its staff can continue to give customers the high levels of service they expect from the Queen's bank."
MacGregor added: "Our key priority now is to avoid compulsory redundancies and Unite will ensure that RBS continues to work with the union to minimise the impact of this restructuring."
