THE chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland owner NatWest Group has this morning apologised if she had given the impression the bank was no longer headquartered in Scotland.

Alison Rose was asked in a call with reporters to clarify comments made in a radio interview this morning, when she was questioned as to whether the bank was still Scottish.

Asked by a journalist whether Edinburgh was no longer the head office for the bank, and if London would be “formalised” as its HQ, Ms Rose said: “There is no change to our head office. My answer to the question was in relation to how important Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish business is to us. We support one in three businesses in Scotland, one in five people, one in seven households. We are one of the largest private sector employers in Scotland.

“But there is no change to our head office at all. If that was misconstrued I apologise; it was emphasising how important Scotland and [the] Scottish business is to us.”