The financial institution claimed the title adjust forms element of a approach to align itself “with the manufacturer below which the the greater part of our company is delivered”, with close to 80{312eb768b2a7ccb699e02fa64aff7eccd2b9f51f6a579147b7ed58dbcded82a2} of its shopper foundation coming from Natwest
Group PLC () has claimed it will formally rebrand itself as Natwest Group PLC from July 22, retaining the RBS manufacturer at its Scottish branches but running as NatWest in its other marketplaces.
The banking big, which also owns the Queen’s financial institution Coutts and is element-owned by the Uk taxpayer, claimed it will make a subsequent announcement when the title adjust can take influence, while its ticker on the LSE will also adjust.
Read through: RBS extends incentivised switching scheme deadline for enterprises
RBS claimed the title adjust plans form element of a approach to align its group title “with the manufacturer below which the the greater part of our company is delivered”, as close to 80{312eb768b2a7ccb699e02fa64aff7eccd2b9f51f6a579147b7ed58dbcded82a2} of the company’s shopper foundation originates from its Natwest division.
Nevertheless, the title adjust could also be a shift by the financial institution to at last attract a line below the lingering toxicity of its RBS title, which has ongoing to pervade due to the fact the 2008 monetary disaster amid a litany of scandals in excess of payment protection insurance (PPI), amount repairing and the conduct of its World-wide Restructuring Group (GRG) company unit.
A report released by the Money Perform Authority (FCA) last yr found that GRG had mistreated smaller and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which have been transferred to its control after the crash, with an impartial evaluate also uncovering evidence of plans to drain enterprises of income in get to acquire belongings and fairness and raise bonuses for selected employees.
Rebrands: the superior, the undesirable and the hideous
RBS’s imminent rebrand also is the newest chapter in the chequered background of major company rebrands.
Potentially 1 of the more famous examples of a rebrand gone wrong was the 2001 title adjust of Royal Mail Group PLC () to ‘Consignia’, element of a approach by then chief govt John Roberts to develop the scope of the company and endeavor to press into global marketplaces.
The £2mln rebrand grew to become an instant laughing stock and lasted close to sixteen months right before it was canned, with Roberts himself remaining consigned to the record of previous CEOs of the agency soon after.
Although Royal Mail’s limited-lived rebrand was element of an energy to seem to the foreseeable future of the company, the rebrand of Arthur Anderson’s consulting arm to in 2001 was, substantially like RBS, a bid to cut the organization off from its harmful previous.
At the time 1 of the most extensively revered accountancy firms, Arthur Anderson’s status was remaining in tatters following its purpose in the individual bankruptcy of US vitality big Enron, which was found to have employed questionable accounting techniques to hide personal debt off its stability sheet which had been signed off by Anderson’s accountants.
Nevertheless, some company rebrands have more mundane targets in thoughts, these kinds of as the 2015 rebrand of research motor big Google to ().
The tech agency fashioned Alphabet as a guardian to the core research motor company, which continues to be its greatest asset, while also permitting it to scale the administration of its other company arms, a lot of of which contain study & progress firms building technological innovation relevant to self-driving cars and other so-called ‘moon-shot’ jobs.
Shares in RBS have been .four{312eb768b2a7ccb699e02fa64aff7eccd2b9f51f6a579147b7ed58dbcded82a2} decreased at 121p in mid-afternoon buying and selling on Thursday.