SO the time has come to say farewell to RBS. At least, that will be the case for personal banking customers of the state-owned lender in Scotland by the start of 2019.
The bank, majority-owned by UK taxpayers since 2008, is renaming its branches Royal Bank of Scotland north of the Border, ditching the RBS brand which, following years of losses, job cuts, branch closures, and hefty misconduct fines, has become tarnished.
Of course, the more serious aspect of the restructuring RBS announced was the confirmation of its move to ring-fence its retail operations from its riskier investment banking activity, as required by legislation.
After the billions taxpayers stumped up to bail out the banks during the financial crisis – to safeguard savings for thousands of customers after reckless activity took our biggest lenders to the brink – such a move must surely be welcome.
But what, if anything, does the rebranding of RBS actually mean?
The purging of RBS from branch windows may have some cathartic effect for demoralised staff. Employees may also derive pride in seeing the name Royal Bank of Scotland taking its place above the door. After all, Royal Bank was for decades, if not centuries, considered to be one of Scotland’s most prestigious and cherished institutions.
However, given the scale of the rebuilding which still lies ahead of the bank, from seemingly endless litigation for past conduct to Brexit and lower for longer interest rates, the rebranding seems to be little more than window dressing.
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