RBS goes back to its Scottish roots in £1bn plan

RBS is to spend £1 billion on a “tartan makeover” in a bid to win back the trust of its customers.

The taxpayer-owned bank is going “back to its Scottish roots” in an effort to dump the legacy left behind by former chief executive Fred Goodwin.

The shortened RBS branding – introduced a decade ago in an attempt to portray the bank as a global business – has been scrapped in favour of a return to the firm’s traditional name, Royal Bank of Scotland.

Every branch in Scotland is to be fitted with new signs using the full Royal Bank of Scotland title and will also undergo major refurbishment with a theme of purple heather, tartan and tweed, and staff have been briefed not to refer to RBS.

Bosses at the company – which had to be bailed out by the British taxpayer in 2008 at a cost of £45.5 billion – say the rebranding exercise is vital “to win back customers’ trust”.

A spokesman for the bank said: “As part of the branch refurbs, we are reconnecting with our heritage and with the local communities, so our new signs will say Royal Bank of Scotland – which is the name the bank started with in 1727.

“We were always Royal Bank of Scotland but over the years it was shortened.

“We now want to go back to our heritage. Our new branches are also fitted with finishes and colours inspired by the Scottish landscape – stone, countryside and heather – to reconnect with the national identity.”

Taxpayer Scotland director Eben Wilson said last night: “We taxpayers hope their approach is more than just window dressing and that it has been calculated to produce clear marketing gains.”