RBS is being asked to urgently explain how a leaked document appeared to contradict claims by its senior management that staff do not have targets to push customers towards online banking.

The Scottish Affairs Committee has written to Ross McEwan, the chief executive of RBS following reports which they feel call into question evidence he gave to the MSPs on Wednesday over its decision to shut 52 branches in Scotland, with a further 10 under threat.

Appearing before a Westminster committee last week, senior RBS management denied that staff had been set targets to drive customers towards digital banking.

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However a performance review leaked to Scottish Labour, and setting out objectives for 2018, appears to show a target of an average of 5.6 sign-ups a week for the RBS mobile app.

It also insists staff should “help a minimum of 0.6 customers (a week) benefit from the mobile app through logging quality customer interaction”.

In a letter, committee chairman Pete Wishart calls on Mr McEwan to respond "as a matter of urgency, to clarify this situation and provide an explanation..."

Mr Wishart pointed out that he had asked Mr McEwan during a committee session if it is the case “that staff have been set targets in these branches in order to secure these digital customers”.

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Mr McEwan replied: “No, it is not right.” He said all incentives had been removed, but staff had been asked to “talk to customers about other ways of banking”.

Later in the session Hugh Gaffney MP asked what performance targets had been set for bank branch staff in relation to online banking.

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In response Jane Howard, the personal banking managing director said:: “We talked about this earlier when we said we do not have targets and we removed incentives. I expect our colleagues in the branches to talk to customers about all the ways to bank, and that includes digital.”

An RBS spokesman described the leaked document as referring to an objective, not a goal.

He said: "When Ross McEwan was asked about whether staff have targets for the adoption of mobile and online banking, he did not deny this and openly acknowledged that we ask our colleagues to have those conversations with customers so that they are aware of all the different ways that they can bank with us, this includes telephony, face to face and digital banking.

“In 2016, we removed financial incentives for colleagues to hit sales targets - the first of the major banks to do so."