The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
RBS puts accent on its Scottish roots
Finance: RBS shrugs off its troubled past – and downgrades the acronym
The RoyalBankof Scotland has ditched the RBS acronymfor its customer-facing business as it focuses on rebuilding its brand in the wake of the banking crisis.
The bank has backed the move with the launch of a new advertising campaign that features a range of iconic Scottish locations including Fraserburgh harbour and Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven.
It also includes a lighthearted take on a major bugbear for many Scots travelling down south – a London taxi driver questioning payment with a Scottish note.
But the ambitious campaign hit its first snag on the same day when the bank revealed a $1.1billion (£845million) settlement to US regulators over claims of mis-sold mortgage bonds in the run-up to the financial crisis.
The taxpayer- backed lender reached the agreement with the National Credit Union Administration Board, which regulates credit unions in America. The bank, which does not admit fault under the deal, said the settlement is “substantially” covered by the £ 3.8billion already put aside to coverupcominglitigations.
And while there are fears of further outstanding claims to be paid out over historic US mis- selling claims, Malcolm Buchanan, managing director of corporate and commercial banking in Scotland and chairman of the bank’s Scottish board, said the campaign is an effort to focus on the bank’s currentday operations, rather than its troubled past.
“We are not trying to pretend that stuff isn’t out there,” he said.
“But it really does relate to a different time in the bank’s history. It is not hugely relevant to what we are doing at a grass-roots level in Scotland today.
“The Royal Bank of Scotland is a great business. We look after two million customers. We want the Royal Bank of Scotland brand and our people behind the brand focused on how we can help those customers do what they want to do.”
The RBS brand is still used as the bank’s corporate name aimed at investors, while in Scotland it will now use its full name – harking back to its establishment in 1727. In England andWales it trades as NatWest, and as Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
“I have been in banking for 32 years,” Mr Buchanan said. “I remember the Royal Bank brand at the time and how Scottish it felt.
“I feelproudof theprospect we can get it back in touch with its roots, rather than RBS, which was much more about punching outside of the UK – at one point we were enormous in 40 countries globally.
“That is not what the Royal Bank of Scotland is all about going forward. We are here for people in Scotland, business in Scotland and helping the economy prosper.”