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The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
and
commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...
in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of
NatWest Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
, together with
NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...
and
Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...
. The Royal Bank of Scotland has around 700 branches, mainly in Scotland, though there are branches in many larger towns and cities throughout England and Wales. The bank is completely separate from the fellow Edinburgh-based bank, the
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...
, which pre-dates the Royal Bank by 32 years. The Royal Bank of Scotland was established to provide a bank with strong Hanoverian and Whig ties. Following ringfencing of the Group's core domestic business, the bank became a direct subsidiary of
NatWest Holdings NatWest Holdings Limited is an intermediate holding company for the NatWest Group's retail banking interests in the United Kingdom. The company was established in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of ...
in 2019. NatWest Markets comprises the Group's investment banking arm. To give it legal form, the former RBS entity was renamed NatWest Markets in 2018; at the same time Adam and Company (which held a separate PRA banking licence) was renamed The Royal Bank of Scotland, with Adam and Company continuing as an RBS private banking brand until 2022.Treanor, Jill
RBS to strengthen NatWest brand
''The Guardian''. 30 September 2016.


History


Foundation

The bank traces its origin to the Society of the Subscribed Equivalent Debt, which was set up by investors in the failed Company of Scotland to protect the compensation they received as part of the arrangements of the 1707 Acts of Union. The "Equivalent Society" became the "Equivalent Company" on 21 November 1724, and the new company wished to move into banking. The British government received the request favourably as the "Old Bank", the
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...
, was suspected of having Jacobite sympathies. Accordingly, the "New Bank" was chartered on 31 May 1727 as the Royal Bank of Scotland, with Archibald Campbell, Lord Ilay, appointed its first governor. On 31 May 1728, the Royal Bank of Scotland invented the
overdraft An overdraft occurs when something is withdrawn in excess of what is in a current account. For financial systems, this can be funds in a bank account. In these situations the account is said to be "overdrawn". In the economic system, if there i ...
, which was later considered an innovation in modern banking. It allowed William Hogg, a merchant in the High Street of Edinburgh, access to £1,000 (£ in today's value) credit.


Competition with the Bank of Scotland

Competition between the Old and New Banks was fierce and centred on the issue of banknotes. The policy of the Royal Bank was to either drive the Bank of Scotland out of business or take it over on favourable terms. The Royal Bank built up large holdings of the Bank of Scotland's notes, which it acquired in exchange for its own notes, then suddenly presented to the Bank of Scotland for payment. To pay these notes, the Bank of Scotland was forced to call in its loans and, in March 1728, to suspend payments. The suspension relieved the immediate pressure on the Bank of Scotland at the cost of substantial damage to its reputation and gave the Royal Bank a clear space to expand its own business – although the Royal Bank's increased note issue also made it more vulnerable to the same tactics. Despite talk of a merger with the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank did not possess the wherewithal to complete the deal. By September 1728, the Bank of Scotland was able to start redeeming its notes again, with interest, and in March 1729, it resumed lending. To prevent similar attacks in the future, the Bank of Scotland put an "option clause" on its notes, giving it the right to make the notes interest-bearing while delaying payment for six months; the Royal Bank followed suit. Both banks eventually decided that the policy they had followed was mutually self-destructive and a truce was arranged, but it still took until 1751 before the two banks agreed to accept each other's notes.


Scottish expansion

The bank opened its first branch office outside Edinburgh in 1783 when it opened one in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, in part of a draper's shop in the High Street. Further branches were opened in
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
, Rothesay, Dalkeith,
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
,
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...
, and
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
in the first part of the nineteenth century. In 1821, the bank moved from its original head office in Edinburgh's
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
to Dundas House, on St. Andrew Square in the
New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
. The building as seen along George Street forms the eastern end of the central vista in New Town. It was designed for Sir Lawrence Dundas by Sir William Chambers as a
Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
mansion, completed in 1774. An axial banking hall (Telling Room) behind the building, designed by John Dick Peddie, was added in 1857; it features a domed roof, painted blue internally, with gold star-shaped coffers. The banking hall continues in use as a branch of the bank, and Dundas House remains the registered head office of the bank to this day. The rest of the nineteenth century saw the bank pursue mergers with other Scottish banks, chiefly as a response to failing institutions. The assets and liabilities of the Western Bank were acquired following its collapse in 1857; the Dundee Banking Company was acquired in 1864. By 1910, the Royal Bank of Scotland had 158 branches and around 900 staff. By 1969, economic conditions were becoming more difficult for the banking sector. In response, the Royal Bank of Scotland merged with
National Commercial Bank of Scotland The National Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scotland, Scottish commercial bank. It was established in 1959 through a merger of the National Bank of Scotland (established in 1825) with the Commercial Bank of Scotland (established in 1810) ...
. The merger resulted in a new
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
, the National and Commercial Banking Group, with 662 branches in Scotland, which all transferred to the Royal Bank name. The holding company was renamed The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 1979 and became
NatWest Group NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
in July 2020.


Expansion into England

The expansion of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
in the latter half of the nineteenth century saw the emergence of London as the largest financial centre in the world, attracting Scottish banks to expand southward into England. The first London branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland opened in 1874. However, English banks moved to prevent further expansion by Scottish banks into England; and, after a government committee was set up to examine the matter, the Scottish banks chose to drop their expansion plans. An agreement was reached, under which English banks would not open branches in Scotland and Scottish banks would not open branches in England outside London. This agreement remained in place until the 1960s, although various cross-border acquisitions were permitted. The Royal Bank's English expansion plans were resurrected after World War I when it acquired various small English banks, including London-based
Drummonds Bank Messrs. Drummond, Bankers is a formerly independent private bank in the United Kingdom that is now part of NatWest Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland incorporating Messrs Drummond, Bankers is based at 49 Charing Cross in central London. Drummo ...
(in 1924), which continued as a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland; Williams Deacon's Bank, based in northwestern England (in 1930) and Glyn, Mills & Co. (in 1939), which together came to be known as the Three Banks Group; the English and Welsh branches were reorganised as
Williams & Glyn's Bank Williams & Glyn's Bank Limited was established in London in 1970, when the Royal Bank of Scotland merged its two subsidiaries in England and Wales, Williams Deacon's Bank Ltd. and Glyn, Mills & Co. In 1985, Williams & Glyn's was fully absorbed ...
in 1969, before adopting the Royal Bank name in 1985.


Takeover bids

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Royal Bank was the subject of three separate takeover approaches. In 1979,
Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the "Big Four (banking)#England and Wales, Big Four" clearing house ...
, which had previously built up a 16.4% stake in the Royal Bank, made a takeover approach for the remaining shares it did not own. The offer was rejected by the board of directors on the basis that it was detrimental to the bank's operations. However, when the
Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational bank with operations in wealth management, Wholesale banking, corporate and investment banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retai ...
proposed a merger with the Royal Bank in 1980, the board responded favourably. Standard Chartered Bank was headquartered in London, although most of its operations were in the Far East, and the Royal Bank saw advantages in creating a truly international banking group. Approval was received from the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
, and the two banks agreed to a merger plan that would have seen Standard Chartered acquire the Royal Bank and keep the UK operations based in Edinburgh. However, the bid was scuppered by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) which tabled a rival offer. The bid by HSBC was not backed by the Bank of England and was subsequently rejected by the Royal Bank's board. However, the
British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
referred both bids to the
Monopolies and Mergers Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under UK competition law, competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competiti ...
; both were subsequently rejected as being against the public interest. The Bank did obtain an international partnership with Banco Santander Central Hispano of Spain, each bank taking a 5% stake in the other. However, this arrangement ended in 2005, when Banco Santander Central Hispano acquired UK bank Abbey Nationaland both banks sold their respective shareholdings.


International expansion

The first international office of the bank was opened in New York in 1960. Subsequent international banks were opened in Chicago, Los Angeles,
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, and Hong Kong. In 1988 the bank acquired Citizens Financial Group, a bank based in
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
, United States. Since then, Citizens has acquired several other American banks and in 2004 acquired Charter One Bank. From 1988 to 2015, it owned Citizens Financial Group, a bank in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and from 2005 to 2009 RBS Group was the second-largest shareholder in the
Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Banco da China'') is a state-owned Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, Beijing, China. It is one of ...
, itself the world's fifth-largest bank by market capitalisation in February 2008.


Recent history

Following the implosion of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008 while under the direction of directors at its Edinburgh headquarters, and its rescue by taxpayer funds, it became a subsidiary of the UK Government. On 20 January 2011, Royal Bank of Scotland were fined £28.58 million for anti-competitive practices that were enacted with
Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
in relation to the pricing of loan products for large professional services firms. Also in 2011, Royal Bank of Scotland prevented Basic Account holders from using the ATMs of most rival banks (although they could still use those of
NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...
,
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
,
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
and the
Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
). In June 2012, computer problems prevented customers accessing accounts. Royal Bank of Scotland released a statement on 12 June 2013 that announced a transition in which
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
Stephen Hester would stand down in December 2013 for the financial institution "to return to private ownership by the end of 2014". For his part in the procession of the transition, Hester received 12 months' pay and benefits worth £1.6 million, as well as the potential for £4 million in shares. The Royal Bank of Scotland stated that, as of the announcement, the search for Hester's successor would commence. Hester was replaced as CEO by New Zealander Ross McEwan, formerly the head of the bank's retail arm, on 1 October 2013. McEwan, who was 56 years old at the start of his tenure, will receive no bonus for his work in 2013 or at the end of 2014, and his pension will be replaced by an annual cash sum equivalent to 35 percent of his salary as
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
. In November 2013, Royal Bank of Scotland announced it was in talks to sell a shipping loan in ’Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.’ worth $800 million. It was also announced in that month that the bank was in talks to sell its equity derivatives business to a buyer rumoured to be
BNP Paribas BNP Paribas (; sometimes referred to as BNPP or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial instituti ...
. In September 2014, Royal Bank of Scotland announced that they would move their headquarters to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in the event of a Yes vote in the Scottish referendum. Whilst this move would not affect day to day banking services in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, there would be several major ramifications; the key issue being that the Scottish version of Royal Bank of Scotland would become a subsidiary to the London-based holding company. Therefore, tax would be paid chiefly through the London-based company, thus depriving
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
of significant revenues. This would break a near 300-year period in which the Royal Bank of Scotland has been headquartered in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. In March 2015, Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to sell its internationally managed private banking and wealth management business to
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
's Union Bancaire Privée UBP SA. The sale includes client relationships managed under
Coutts Coutts & Co. () is a British private bank and wealth manager headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channe ...
and Adam and Company brands in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
,
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. The terms of the sale were not announced. The operations being sold has CHF 32-billion of client assets under management. Royal Bank of Scotland will continue to offer private banking and wealth management in the British Isles, as well as to international clients with a strong connection to the UK. On 20 March 2017, the British paper ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that hundreds of banks had helped launder
KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
-related funds out of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, as uncovered by an investigation named Global Laundromat. The Royal Bank of Scotland was listed among the 17 banks in the UK that were "facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers," as the bank "handled $113.1 million" in Laundromat cash. Other banks facing scrutiny under the investigation included
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
,
NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...
, Lloyds,
Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
and
Coutts Coutts & Co. () is a British private bank and wealth manager headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channe ...
.
Coutts Coutts & Co. () is a British private bank and wealth manager headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channe ...
, owned by RBS, had "accepted $32.8m worth of payments via its office in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland."
NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...
, also owned by RBS, was named for allowing through $1.1 million in related funds. In early 2018, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group announced its plans for restructuring to comply with new UK-wide rules on ring-fencing retail banking operations from riskier investment banking operations. As part of this restructuring, all retail banking assets of the existing Royal Bank of Scotland were transferred to Adam and Company, which assumed the Royal Bank of Scotland name in the process. Adam and Company continued as an RBS private banking brand in Scotland, along the same lines as the Messrs. Drummond and
Child & Co Child & Co. is a historic private bank in the United Kingdom, later integrated into the Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS division of the NatWest Group. The bank operated from its long-standing premises at 1 Fleet Street, on the western edge of the C ...
. businesses in England. As part of the restructuring and brand management, it was decided that
NatWest National Westminster Bank, trading as NatWest, is a major Retail banking, retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the Corporate merger, merger of National Provincial Bank and We ...
would become RBS Group's primary customer-facing brand in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. As a result, all Royal Bank of Scotland branded branches in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
were closed as they were located close to NatWest branded branches, which customers would be able to use for counter services instead. On 14 February 2020, it was announced that the holding company of Royal Bank of Scotland (Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc) would be renamed NatWest Group plc later that year, taking the brand under which the majority of its business is delivered. The change took place on 22 July 2020. The investment management business of Adam and Company was acquired by Canaccord Genuity Group in 2021 and its banking and lending business transferred to Coutts & Co. in 2022 using a banking business transfer scheme approved by the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...
in Edinburgh. Child & Co. also closed in 2022, leaving Messrs. Drummond and Holt's Military Banking as the only remaining branches of RBS operating in England and Wales.


Proposed Williams and Glyn divestment

As a consequence of the British Government taking an 81% shareholding in the RBS Group following the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, the group was required by a
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
ruling to sell a portion of its business, as the commission regarded the shareholding as
state aid State aid in the European Union is the name given to a subsidy or any other aid provided by a government that distorts competition. Under European Union competition law, the term has a legal meaning, being any measure that demonstrates any of the ...
. Royal Bank of Scotland unveiled plans in 2009 to resurrect the dormant Williams and Glyn's brand name in preparation for the divestment of its Royal Bank of Scotland-branded retail banking business in England and its NatWest branches in Scotland. On 27 September 2013, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group confirmed it had agreed to sell 308 Royal Bank of Scotland branches in England and Wales and 6 NatWest branches in Scotland to the Corsair consortium. The branches were due to be divested from the group in 2016 as a standalone business operating under the Williams & Glyn name, although, in August 2016, RBS cancelled the spin-off plan, stating that the new bank could not survive independently. It revealed it would instead seek to sell the division to another bank. In February 2017, HM Treasury suggested that the bank should abandon the plan to sell the division, and instead focus on initiatives to boost competition within business banking in the United Kingdom. The plan would be subject to approval by the European Commission. A final agreement, known as the "Alternative Remedies Package", was reached with the European Commission in September 2017, allowing RBS Group to retain the Williams & Glyn assets and bringing the sale process to a close. In May 2018, it was announced that 162 RBS branches in England or Wales that were to have become Williams & Glyn would be closed, resulting in almost 800 job losses, with customers able to use nearby NatWest branches for counter services instead. The closure of a further 54 branches was announced in September 2018 with an expected loss of 258 jobs.


Banknotes

Up until the middle of the 19th century, privately owned banks in Great Britain and Ireland were permitted to issue their own banknotes, and money issued by provincial Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish banking companies circulated freely as a means of payment. While the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
eventually gained a monopoly for issuing banknotes in England and Wales, Scottish banks retained the right to issue their own banknotes and continue to do so to this day. The Royal Bank of Scotland, along with Clydesdale Bank and
Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...
, still prints its own
banknotes A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...
. Notes issued by Scottish banks circulate widely and may be used as a means of payment throughout Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom; although they do not have the status of
legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...
they are accepted as
promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
s. ''No'' paper money is legal tender in Scotland, even that issued by the Bank of England (which is legal tender in England and Wales).


“Fabric of Nature” series (2016)

From May 2020 RBS began to replace the “Ilay” series with the new “Fabric of Nature” series of
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
banknotes. The first polymer notes, the £5, came into circulation on 27 October 2016. The £5 note features Nan Shepherd on the obverse accompanied by a quote from her book 'The Living Mountain', and the
Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...
in the background. The reverse shows a pair of
mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...
, with an excerpt from the poem ‘The Choice’ by Sorley MacLean. The second polymer note to be introduced was the £10 note, which entered circulation in 2017. It shows
Mary Somerville Mary Somerville ( ; , formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorar ...
on the obverse, with a quote from her work 'The Connection of the Physical Sciences', and
Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...
beach in the background. The reverse displays two
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
s and an excerpt from the poem ‘Moorings’ by Norman MacCaig.


"Ilay" series (1987)

Prior to the current polymer series, the Royal Bank "Ilay" series of banknotes were in circulation, so-called because each denomination featured a picture of Lord Ilay (1682–1761), the first governor of the bank. The image was based on a portrait of Lord Ilay painted in 1744 by the Edinburgh artist Allan Ramsay. The front of the notes also included an engraving of the facade of Dundas House, the mansion of Sir Laurence Dundas in St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, which was built by William Chambers (architect), Sir William Chambers in 1774 and later became the bank's headquarters; the bank's coat of arms; and the 1969 arrows logo and branding. The background Graphics, graphic on both sides of the notes was a radial firmament, star design which was based on the ornate ceiling of the banking hall in the old headquarters building, designed by John Dick Peddie in 1857. On the back of the notes were images of Scottish castles, with a different castle for each denomination: * The Royal Bank of Scotland £1 note, 1 pound note featuring Edinburgh Castle * The Royal Bank of Scotland £5 note, 5 pound note featuring Culzean Castle * The Royal Bank of Scotland £10 note, 10 pound note featuring Glamis Castle * The Royal Bank of Scotland £20 note, 20 pound note featuring Brodick Castle * The Royal Bank of Scotland £50 note, 50 pound note featuring Inverness Castle (introduced in 2005) * The Royal Bank of Scotland £100 note, 100 pound note featuring Balmoral Castle As of 30 September 2022 the Ilay series was withdrawn, along with all non-polymer banknotes in the United Kingdom.


Commemorative banknotes

Occasionally the Royal Bank of Scotland issues special wiktionary:Commemorative, commemorative banknotes to mark particular occasions or to celebrate famous people. The Royal Bank was the first British bank to print commemorative banknotes in 1992 followed by several subsequent special issues. These notes are much sought-after by collectors and they rarely remain long in circulation. Examples to date have included: * a £1 note to mark the meeting of the Council of the European Union in Holyrood Palace during the UK's Presidency of the Council of the European Union (1992) * a £1 note to mark the 100th Anniversary of the death of Robert Louis Stevenson (1994) * a £1 note to mark the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell (1997) * a £20 note for the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (2000) * a £5 note honouring veteran golfer Jack Nicklaus in his 2005 Open Championship, last competitive The Open Championship, Open Championship at Old Course at St Andrews, St Andrews (2005). * a £1 note to mark the opening of the Scottish Parliament, depicting the General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, the temporary home of the parliament, and a diagram of the floorplan of the Scottish Parliament Building, new parliament building, designed by Enric Miralles (1999) * a £50 note to mark the opening of the Royal Bank of Scotland's new headquarters in Gogarburn (2005) * a £10 note to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. On the reverse of the commemorative note are four intaglio portraits of Elizabeth II, showing her at different stages of her life (2012) * a £5 note to commemorate the Ryder Cup. It is printed by Giesecke+Devrient on the "Hybrid" substrate.


Services

The Royal Bank of Scotland provides a full range of banking and insurance services to personal, business, and commercial customers. As well as traditional branches, phone, and internet banking, Royal Bank of Scotland has operated "mobile branches" since 1946 using converted vans to serve rural areas. There are currently 19 mobile branches. The bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (United Kingdom), Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. It participates fully in the Faster Payments Service, an initiative to speed up certain payments, launched in 2008. In 2006, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group undertook the first trial of Mastercard, PayPass Contactless payment, contactless debit and credit cards in Europe. The bank is introducing Visa Debit cards with the technology for current accounts, which can be used to pay for purchases up to £30 by tapping an enabled card on the retailer's terminal. In an effort to enhance security, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest introduced hand-held devices in 2007 for use with a card to authorise online banking transactions. Royal Bank of Scotland is a member of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited, BACS, Bankers' Automated Clearing Services Limited, the CHAPS, Clearing House Automated Payment System Limited and the Link (British interbank network), LINK Interchange Network Limited. It is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service, UK Payments Administration and of the British Bankers' Association; it subscribes to the Lending Code. The bank is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme with The One account, Drummonds Bank and Holt's Military Banking under one licence.


Branding

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group uses branding developed for the Bank on its merger with the National Commercial Bank of Scotland in 1969. The Group's logo takes the form of an abstract symbol of four inward-pointing arrows known as the "''Daisy Wheel''" and is based on an arrangement of 36 piles of coins in a 6 by 6 square, representing ''the accumulation and concentration of wealth by the Group''. The ''Daisy Wheel'' logo was later adopted by Royal Bank of Scotland Group subsidiaries
Ulster Bank Ulster Bank is one of the traditional Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group was subdivided into two separate legal entities: National Westminster Bank Plc, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in England and Wales and operating i ...
in Ireland, Citizens Financial Group in the United States and, until it was sold in 2010, payment processing company Worldpay Group, Worldpay. From 2003, the bank began to move away from referring to both the Group brand and its retail banking brand as "The Royal Bank of Scotland", instead of using the "RBS" initialism. This was intended to support the positioning of the bank as a Global financial services player as opposed to its roots as a national bank, however, "The Royal Bank of Scotland" continued to be used alongside the RBS initialism, with both appearing on bank signage. In spring 2014 the full bank name returned to print and television advertising in the form of a new logo with the omission of "The". In August 2016, Ross McEwan confirmed that the bank would use the full name for its business in Scotland in lieu of the RBS acronym, to distance the bank from its previous global expansion plans. Royal Bank of Scotland sponsored the Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams F1 team from 2005 until the end of 2010. They also were the title sponsor for the Canadian Grand Prix from 2005 until the end of 2008. They have supported tennis player Andy Murray since he was aged 13.


Controversies


Fossil fuel financing

In 2007, Royal Bank of Scotland was promoted itself as "The Oil & Gas Bank" including hosting a website www.oilandgasbank.com. A Platform London report estimated that the carbon emissions embedded within Royal Bank of Scotland' project finance reached 36.9 million tonnes in 2005, comparable to Scotland's carbon emissions. Royal Bank of Scotland helped to provide an estimated £8 billion from 2006 to 2008 to the energy corporation E.ON and other coal-utilizing companies. In 2012, 2.8% of Royal Bank of Scotland' total lending was provided to the power, oil and gas sectors combined. According to Royal Bank of Scotland' own figures, half of its deals to the energy sector were to wind power projects; although, this only included project finance and not general commercial loans. Responding to this RBS branches and the company's AGM were targeted by protests, and a boycott of the bank was promoted, between 2007 and 2011. A number of groups were involved including Platform (art group), Platform London, People & Planet, the Global Justice Now, World Development Movement, Friends of the Earth and Friends of the Earth Scotland. In August 2010 Camp for Climate Action#Edinburgh 2010, Climate Camp UK held a week-long camp in the parkland around RBS' global headquarters at Gogarburn, Edinburgh. A number of disruptive protests took place during the camp, including at RBS branches in the surrounding area.


2008 bail-out

82 percent of Royal Bank of Scotland's Share (finance), shares were acquired by the UK government as part of the 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package. The UK Government bought Royal Bank of Scotland stock for £42 billion, representing 50 pence per share. In 2011, the shares were worth 19 pence, representing a taxpayer book loss of £26 billion. Historically, the Royal Bank of Scotland stock price went from a high of over 6,900 pence in early 2007 (taking into account a 3 for 1 reverse stock split that took place later that year) to around 120 pence February 2009 and up to 187 pence by December 2011. In 2012 RBS shares were consolidated on a 1 for 10 basis. The Stock has not recovered from the financial shock of early 2009 and is currently at 316 pence (30 October 2015.) This equated to a price of just 31.6 pence per pre-consolidation share. The performance-related pay, bonus payments paid to Royal Bank of Scotland staff subsequent to the 2008 United Kingdom bank rescue package caused controversy. Staff bonuses were nearly £1 billion in 2010, even though Royal Bank of Scotland reported losses of £1.1 billion for 2010. More than 100 senior bank executives were paid in excess of £1 million each in bonuses. Consequently, former CEO Fred Goodwin was stripped of his Knight Bachelor, knighthood in mid-January, and newly appointed CEO Stephen Hester renounced his £1 million bonus after complaints over the bank's performance. In 2014, comedian Russell Brand staged a protest against bonuses outside RBS's offices in London. RBS' central role in the 2008 financial crisis led to it being targeted by a protest camp, 'Occupy Edinburgh', who set-up outside their Head Branch on St. Andrews Square in October 2011. The camp was maintained for 108 days and included a number of rallies and protests, as well as a pirate flag being raised on top of the RBS head branch.


Branch closures

In 2010, Royal Bank of Scotland promised not to close bank branches where they were the last in town. In 2014, Royal Bank of Scotland changed direction and closed 44 branches which were the last in town, as branch transactions had fallen by 30% over the last four years. Royal Bank of Scotland will close 259 more branches across Britain in its latest round of cuts as customers shift to online banking.


Allegations of asset-stripping small business customers

In October 2016, BBC Newsnight and Buzzfeed published reports from a leaked internal document which showed that RBS had "Systematically Crushed British Businesses" with fines, interest rate hikes and loan withdrawals, often acquiring equity or property at firesale prices, turning a sizeable profit. RBS executives had previously assured Parliament that their Global Restructuring Group (GRG) was not a profit centre. Controversy regarding the GRG was rekindled by the leader of the Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable, and others in January 2018. In February 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority released a "Section 166" report from Promontory Financial Services to Nicky Morgan, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, detailing widespread abuse of SMEs within GRG. This was despite protracted resistance by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA to releasing the report.


See also

*List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities


References


Further reading

* McDiarmid, Andrew. "The Equivalent Societies of Edinburgh and London, the Formation of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and the Nature of the Scottish Financial Revolution." ''Journal of British Studies'' 60.1 (2021): 88–114. * Munro, Neil. ''History of the Royal Bank of Scotland 1727–1927'' (1928
online


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Bank Of Scotland Royal Bank of Scotland Banknote issuers of Scotland, Scotland Banks established in 1727 Banks of Scotland Companies based in Edinburgh Scottish brands William Chambers buildings 1727 establishments in Scotland British companies established in 1727