New chief to make RBS more open, accessible

Royal Bank of Scotland's new chief executive has pledged to build a bank that is "more open, more accessible and more inclusive" as she kicked off her first day in the top job.

Alison Rose, who has made history as the first woman to run one of Britain's major high street lenders, also acknowledged the "threat from climate change, a lack of financial confidence and barriers to enterprise and growth".

In a message sent to all RBS staff, Rose said: "Simplifying what we do and making bold choices about how we deliver for customers, will also be part of an ambitious plan for the future that I will share in the New Year.

"I want to build a bank that is more open, more accessible and more inclusive. One that is truly representative of the communities we support. I also want to embed a culture of continuous learning, where personal development is second nature and where we have the skills and the mind-sets needed to compete and thrive in the digital economy.

"As well as inclusion, learning and development, I want to build a stronger dialogue with you. You know our customers best and you have ideas for how to improve what we do." Rose has taken over from Ross McEwan, who recently oversaw his final set of results at the Edinburghheadquartered lender.

RBS swung to a loss after taking a fresh £900 million hit for payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. The group reported a pre-tax operating losses of £8m for the three months to the end of September, compared with a profit of £961m a year earlier. It posted attributable losses of £315m for the third-quarter period, against profits of £448m a year earlier. RBS, which remains 62 per cent owned by the taxpayer, blamed losses on the £900m bill for PPI following a last-minute surge in claims ahead of the late August deadline.