Leith Robertson, Euan Hamilton and David Giffen, three former senior RBS bankers who were at the heart of the bank's global expansion, have formed a corporate advisory business in Edinburgh.

Cramond Capital notably sees the resurfacing of Mr Robertson, who retired from RBS in February 2009, aged 57, as deputy chief executive of global banking and markets. The division, by 2008, had more leveraged deals such as private equity buy-outs than any other UK bank.

It was chaired by Jonny Cameron, who, in May 2010 agreed not to re-enter the industry following the regulator's inquiry into the bank's collapse.

Poached from bank of Scotland in 1993, Mr Robertson was head of structured finance from 2001 to 2006. He is chairman of 1st Credit, a debt purchase and recovery business.

Euan Hamilton left RBS more recently, having been deputy chief executive of the bank's "non-core division", responsible for overseeing the exit of more than £75 billion of non-core assets over an 18 month period.

As global head of leveraged finance, and operating in New York from 2006, Mr Hamilton played a key role in building up the global leveraged lending business that later had to be shrunk.

David Giffen was Bank of Scotland's head of leveraged finance until he joined RBS in 1999 as a director in the private equity business, which he headed from 2005 to 2008 when the portfolio was worth £2bn.

In 2008 he was appointed global head of portfolio management, leaving RBS the same year.

He chairs the Thistle Foundation.

Cramond Capital's website says it aims to provide "highly flexible capital solutions to UK-based businesses, and will consider investing through a wide range of debt and equity channels".

The team is "currently reviewing a range of investment opportunities from across the UK".

Neither Mr Robertson nor Mr Hamilton were available for comment.