Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to rebrand as Natwest Group PLC next Wednesday
The bank mentioned the name improve forms component of a approach to align by itself “with the brand name below which the majority of our small business is delivered”, with all over eighty% of its customer base coming from Natwest
Group PLC () has mentioned it will officially rebrand by itself as Natwest Group PLC from July 22, retaining the RBS brand name at its Scottish branches but operating as NatWest in its other marketplaces.
The banking large, which also owns the Queen’s bank Coutts and is component-owned by the Uk taxpayer, mentioned it will make a subsequent announcement when the name improve requires influence, even though its ticker on the LSE will also improve.
Read: RBS extends incentivised switching plan deadline for companies
RBS mentioned the name improve options sort component of a approach to align its group name “with the brand name below which the majority of our small business is delivered”, as all over eighty% of the company’s customer base originates from its Natwest division.
Even so, the name improve could also be a move by the bank to at last attract a line below the lingering toxicity of its RBS name, which has continued to pervade given that the 2008 fiscal crisis amid a litany of scandals around payment protection insurance policy (PPI), amount correcting and the behaviour of its Worldwide Restructuring Group (GRG) small business unit.
A report printed by the Fiscal Carry out Authority (FCA) last calendar year observed that GRG experienced mistreated tiny and medium sized companies (SMEs) which were transferred to its management immediately after the crash, with an independent evaluation also uncovering proof of options to drain companies of income in get to receive belongings and fairness and boost bonuses for selected staff.
Rebrands: the superior, the terrible and the unsightly
RBS’s imminent rebrand also is the hottest chapter in the chequered history of significant corporate rebrands.
Maybe a person of the a lot more famed illustrations of a rebrand long gone incorrect was the 2001 name improve of Royal Mail Group PLC () to ‘Consignia’, component of a approach by then main government John Roberts to broaden the scope of the small business and attempt to force into worldwide marketplaces.
The £2mln rebrand grew to become an instant laughing stock and lasted all over sixteen months prior to it was canned, with Roberts himself being consigned to the listing of previous CEOs of the agency shortly immediately after.
Though Royal Mail’s small-lived rebrand was component of an effort and hard work to appear to the upcoming of the small business, the rebrand of Arthur Anderson’s consulting arm to in 2001 was, considerably like RBS, a bid to reduce the company off from its toxic past.
The moment a person of the most greatly respected accountancy corporations, Arthur Anderson’s reputation was still left in tatters next its role in the personal bankruptcy of US strength large Enron, which was observed to have applied questionable accounting procedures to hide credit card debt off its balance sheet which experienced been signed off by Anderson’s accountants.
Even so, some corporate rebrands have a lot more mundane plans in brain, these types of as the 2015 rebrand of research motor large Google to ().
The tech agency fashioned Alphabet as a dad or mum to the main research motor small business, which continues to be its major asset, even though also making it possible for it to scale the management of its other small business arms, quite a few of which include things like research & growth corporations developing know-how relevant to self-driving autos and other so-called ‘moon-shot’ tasks.
Shares in RBS were .4% lower at 121p in mid-afternoon buying and selling on Thursday.