ROYAL Bank of Scotland has thrown open its doors to the leading lights of Silicon Valley, writes Scott Wright.
The state-backed lender hosted speakers from think-tank Singularity University and tech incubator RocketSpace at its Disrupt 17 event. Business people, tech entrepreneurs and customers attended the event at the bank’s sprawling Gogarburn headquarters, where there is now a fintech hub for the Edinburgh tech sector.
Simon McNamara, chief administrative officer at Royal Bank, said ahead of the event: “We’re really excited to be welcoming some of the world’s leading lights in digital innovation to our HQ in Edinburgh to discuss the latest trends in technology and continue the progress we’ve made together to develop new products and services that our customers really value. It’s vital that we continue to build relationships with innovative tech firms from around the world, so that we can make the very best technology available for our customers.”
The event took place in the week it emerged that more than 800 IT jobs could go under a major reorganisation at the lender. Unite said the cuts would amount to a 65 per cent reduction in the bank’s London IT function by 2020.
Royal Bank said it has not consulted on any headcount reduction, stating that its plans represented a “direction of travel”.
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