What a disgrace
RBS threatens to move billions abroad over Brexit ...even though taxpayers still own most of bank!
THE boss of RBS faced a furious backlash last night after he suggested the bank could begin moving ‘tens of billions of pounds’ of business out of the UK because of fears over Brexit.
Chief executive Ross McEwan said the bank – which was bailed out with £45billion of taxpayer money during the financial crisis – could not afford to wait much longer to see what deal Theresa May agreed with the EU.
He said the Edinburgh-based firm would step up moves to transfer corporate clients to its Amsterdam office because a ‘hard Brexit’ now appeared more likely.
MPs condemned the comments as ‘disgraceful’, given that the bank remains almost two-thirds state-owned following its bail- out. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘We ought to be taking tens of billions of pounds out of RBS, shouldn’t we?
‘The British government and the British people should expect more loyalty from a bank which was bailed out at great expense by the taxpayer due to neglect by their then chief executive. Effectively they’re owned by the Treasury – the architects of Project Fear – so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised they’re coming out with such doom and gloom predictions.’
A senior ministerial source added: ‘This is disgraceful. This is basically a stateowned bank. We are the only reason they are in business.’
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘How rich is that? A bank that had to be bailed out by taxpayers who are paid a tiny fraction of what Mr McEwan earns and his first instinct is to cut and run because he hasn’t got what he wants at this point. It’s time he showed a little bit of humility.’
Despite regular sales of RBS shares, the bank remains 62 per cent owned by the taxpayer. But a Treasury spokesman said: ‘The Government is not and should not be in the business of managing banks.’
Mr McEwan made the comments at an event in Edinburgh on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters he said the firm has a licence in the Netherlands and has the ‘ systems in place’ to move business across.
He said: ‘My biggest fear is if we don’t get messaging [on the Brexit deal] soon we are going to have to start moving as though it’s a hard Brexit because I can’t wait.
‘I have to work with customers, I have to start disrupting customers – either moving them off the books, selling our Amsterdam them or operation moving them because to we just won’t have time.’
He said the customers are ‘ big businesses’ and ‘we have to get them ready’, adding: ‘The bank has to plan for the worst. We hope and pray we get something better.’
He said if there is no detailed Brexit plan by March, when Britain formally leaves the European Union, then ‘ tens of billions of pounds’ could be moved to Amsterdam. He said that leaving the EU does not need to impact on the bank’s profitability, but said if there is a ‘hard Brexit and a real drop-off in the economy’ then ‘that starts to impact our business’. RBS officials said Mr McEwan was talking about a small number of customers Western with European complex, corporate crossborder products. An HM Treasury spokesman said: ‘We are confident we’ll get the best possible deal for the City, and the UK as a whole, in our negotiations with the EU.’ It came as RBS was ranked worst for customer service in a new league table published by the Competition and Markets Authority. Just 49 per cent of its current account customers said they would recommend it to a friend or relative, leaving it joint bottom with Clydesdale Bank. RBS was also ranked bottom for service by its small business customers.
Both banks said they were working to improve standards.
‘Time he showed a little humility’