A LIVERPOOL banking centre employing 300 staff is to close in plans to axe a total of 3,500 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) jobs.

The banking group will shut 12 of its business services centres around the country, including its Wavertree Technology Park site, by 2012.

It said it is linked to an order by the European Commission to offload branches, which resulted in the sale of 318 sites to Spanish/UK banking group Santander.

A spokeswoman said the sale will mean less need for back office and administration roles across the group.

The bank will retain 10 back office centres, but will close sites in Liverpool, Leeds, Bolton, Enfield, Harrogate, Bristol, Borehamwood, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Telford, Bradford and Norwich and put a further three sites under review.

However, a regional spokesman for the bank said the Wavertree closure will not necessarily result in 300 job losses.

"We will try and redeploy staff or offer other options within the RBS group."

Part-nationalised RBS said the job losses come on top of the division’s 9,000 job cuts announced last year.

The bank, which is 83% owned by the taxpayer, said the latest jobs cull would start next year and run through to the end of 2012.

Today's UK jobs blow comes just a week after RBS revealed that 14 of its 27 offices in the Churchill and Direct Line insurance arm were being axed.

RBS said: "Having to cut jobs is the most difficult part of our work to rebuild RBS and repay taxpayers for their support.

"We continue to make efficiencies across our business and adjust our plans in line with the divestments we have been required to make by the European Union."

Trade union Unite described the announcement as a "horror story".