RBS banks on ads during X Factor to mend image

BAILED-OUT bank RBS is spending hundreds of thousands on adverts to be shown during the X Factor in a bid to transform its image.

The bank is set to air two adverts over the weekend as part of a wider strategy to be seen as a ‘bank for the people’.

It is its latest attempt to shake off the reputation earned under former boss Fred Goodwin, who took it to the brink of going bust in the financial crisis.

RBS, which operates under the name NatWest in England and Wales and Royal Bank of Scotland, in Scotland – and is 73 per cent owned by the taxpayer – has commissioned two different advertising campaigns to reflect regional differences.

Adverts during the X Factor can range from anything between £110,000 to £130,000 during live shows to upwards of £200,000 during live finals.

The bank, which received a £46billion bailout from the taxpayer during the financial crisis, was criticised by John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, for wasting taxpayers’ money. He said: ‘This case further shows that RBS should be transferred back into private ownership as soon as possible.

‘Banks operate in a competitive market and so have to spend on marketing but it should not be at the expense of taxpayers.’

A spokesman for RBS said the advert cost no more than what they usually spend on marketing.

Last month it was revealed RBS lost £53.7billion since it was bailed out by the taxpayer – £7.7billion more than the total the Treasury ploughed into the bank from public coffers to keep it afloat.