RBS threatens to quit Scotland if SNP wins independence as it rebrands to NatWest The bank’s chairman warns it could quit its Edinburgh home of almost 300 years if Scotland leaves the UK

The Royal Bank of Scotland has threatened to quit its home of almost 300 years if the Scottish National Party (SNP) is successful in winning independence from the UK.

The bank’s chairman warned that the group could quit Edinburgh as the bank unveiled a rebranding in which the word Scotland is removed for the first time since the bank was founded in 1727.

Sir Howard Davies, who has chaired the bank since 2015, said the bank will rebrand as NatWest Group. About 80 per cent of customers bank with the NatWest brand, rather than through RBS branches.

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While he insisted the name change had nothing to do with any current plans to relocate the bank out of Scotland, he added that if Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP was successful in forcing through independence then this could change.

“We’re not unscrewing any brass plaques at this point,” said Sir Howard. “It would be necessary to look at our location if there was Scottish independence, but not before that.”

While the bank is registered in Edinburgh, its chief executive, Alison Rose, has based herself in London.

On the rebranding change, Sir Howard added: “The essential reason for this is as the bank has evolved from the financial crisis and the bailout, we have focused on the NatWest brand. It really makes no sense for us to continue to be called RBS. It was designed for a global group of brands, which we no longer are.”

Shareholder payout

Ms Rose also revealed the bank’s annual results, which included pre-tax profits rising 26 per cent on last year to £4.2bn. The better than expected figures means the bank’s biggest shareholder – the Government – will receive a payout of nearly £600m.

The bank was rescued by the Government in 2008 in the aftermath of the financial crisis at a cost of £45bn and it is still 62 per cent state-owned.

Ms Rose also announced widely expected cost cuts of £250m, following the closure of 215 branches over the year. The next step is to create a “purpose-led” bank, aligning executive pay with a range of targets linked to long-term bonuses.

The targets include creating 50,000 new businesses by 2023, helping to create 500,000 jobs. Ms Rose also unveiled plans to overhaul RBS’s NatWest Markets investment banking business to reduce any risky assets on its balance sheet, with plans to cut it from £35bn to £20bn.



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But she refused to be drawn on any potential job losses in the year ahead. She said: “Any job cuts we will speak to our colleagues first so I won’t be making any comment about that.

“We have over 800 branches, our mobile banks and access to the Post Office. We think that’s about the right shape and size, but we will continue to evolve that. You will see the continuing changing of customers.”

Climate action

As part of its new mission to become a “purpose-led organisation” RBS has promised to halt financing to companies without “credible” plans to tackle climate change.

RBS said from 2021 it will stop lending to oil and gas companies without a plan to decarbonise in line with the Paris Agreement. The international treaty aims to stop disastrous climate change by limiting global temperature rises to under two degrees.

An RBS spokesman said the bank is still in the early days of its plans and has yet to set a cut-off point for what constitutes a “major” oil and gas producer.

RBS also said it would stop lending to and underwriting firms where more than 15 per cent of their activities are related to thermal and lignite coal, unless they have a Paris plan by the end of 2021. The new strategy is a sign of the intense pressure fossil fuel companies are facing to explain how they will survive in a low-carbon world.

The bank also said it would focus more on green consumer lending, setting a target to ensure at least half its mortgage loans go to energy-efficient properties by 2030. It comes just weeks after rival Lloyds announced a similar strategy, promising to channel more finance into green mortgages and support for customers to reduce emissions.