NatWest chair puts RBS brand back on agenda – Daily Business

Rick Haythornthwaite was speaking at Gogarburn which still bears the RBS logo

NatWest chairman Rick Haythornthwaite has said it will use the 300th anniversary of Royal Bank of Scotland next year to review the brand and its commitments north of the border.

Speaking to the media after the AGM in Edinburgh, he said RBS continued “to mean a lot to people north of the border”.

However, the bank dropped the brand in favour of NatWest and Mr Haythornthwaite was reminded that the NatWest name meant nothing to people north of the border as it has no presence.

“I take your challenge,” he said. “It is a difficult question up here and actually one of the things we are looking at carefully is what is our commitment, how do we strengthen it?

“Scotland is very important to us. Are we living up to that as a commitment is a live question.

“There is more we can and should do and what that is, we are always open to ideas. The branding will be part of that question.

“It is not the main question, the main question is our commitment to investment, to entrepreneurs and helping to back growth.”

When it was pointed out that the bank felt so attached to RBS that it decided to ditch the brand, he said: “No doubt the 300th anniversary will focus minds.”

Following an AGM that he was forced to briefly adjourn because of disruption by a number of climate activists, he also commented on the impact of the Iran war.

Consumers are seeing uncertainty about inflation, but “they are showing resilience, given what they have been through over the past five years,” he said.

“They are still spending, more wisely, being far more responsible, they have no debt, low arrears, high savings, business balance sheets are strong, but in the business world that uncertainty is leading to delays in hiring decisions and investment.

Rick Haythornthwaite: we are open to ideas (pic: DB Media Services)

“There is no doubt we are seeing a storm, but we are not seeing an uptake in arrears. Let’s see if this is a six-week war, or a year-long war. If it goes on for a year then clearly the government has some very big decisions to make.

“All we remind them of is that investment matters and investors want predictable, stable political environments. And you need strong banks. I think they understand that.”

On the advance of AI, he said “the world competes on the basis of trust and trust would have to be maintained by putting a lot of thought into relationships.

“Part of that is by deploying AI in a responsible fashion. But it is an integral part of our company now. It is intertwined in everything we are doing.”

He added that “in the key decisions in people’s lives that involve finances they still want a human being at the other side.

“AI can bring the data together, but ultimately when key decisions are made a human touch makes a difference.”

On its impact on the workforce, he said: “I don’t think it is a job destroyer, it’s a job changer. There’s no doubt the nature of jobs are changing. Right now we’re seeing roles being enhanced.”

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