November 11, 2024

Tannochbrae

Built Business Tough

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC to rebrand as Natwest Group PLC next Wednesday

The bank explained the name adjust forms element of a technique to align itself “with the brand name underneath which the the greater part of our business is delivered”, with all around 80% of its shopper base coming from Natwest

Group PLC () has explained it will officially rebrand itself as Natwest Group PLC from July 22, retaining the RBS brand name at its Scottish branches but operating as NatWest in its other markets.

The banking huge, which also owns the Queen’s bank Coutts and is element-owned by the British isles taxpayer, explained it will make a subsequent announcement when the name adjust will take effect, even though its ticker on the LSE will also adjust.

Read: RBS extends incentivised switching scheme deadline for businesses

RBS explained the name adjust options kind element of a technique to align its group name “with the brand name underneath which the the greater part of our business is delivered”, as all around 80% of the company’s shopper base originates from its Natwest division.

On the other hand, the name adjust may possibly also be a go by the bank to eventually attract a line underneath the lingering toxicity of its RBS name, which has ongoing to pervade since the 2008 economic disaster amid a litany of scandals over payment defense insurance (PPI), price correcting and the behaviour of its World-wide Restructuring Group (GRG) business device.

A report released by the Economical Conduct Authority (FCA) last yr identified that GRG experienced mistreated modest and medium sized businesses (SMEs) which ended up transferred to its command following the crash, with an unbiased evaluate also uncovering proof of options to drain businesses of dollars in purchase to receive belongings and equity and increase bonuses for specified employees.

Rebrands: the great, the lousy and the unsightly

RBS’s imminent rebrand also is the newest chapter in the chequered historical past of main corporate rebrands.

Possibly one of the more renowned examples of a rebrand long gone improper was the 2001 name adjust of Royal Mail Group PLC () to ‘Consignia’, element of a technique by then main govt John Roberts to develop the scope of the business and attempt to push into international markets.

The £2mln rebrand became an instant laughing inventory and lasted all around sixteen months before it was canned, with Roberts himself currently being consigned to the record of former CEOs of the firm soon following.

Though Royal Mail’s short-lived rebrand was element of an work to glimpse to the foreseeable future of the business, the rebrand of Arthur Anderson’s consulting arm to in 2001 was, a great deal like RBS, a bid to slice the corporation off from its poisonous earlier.

When one of the most extensively respected accountancy firms, Arthur Anderson’s track record was remaining in tatters following its purpose in the bankruptcy of US energy huge Enron, which was identified to have made use of questionable accounting procedures to disguise credit card debt off its stability sheet which experienced been signed off by Anderson’s accountants.

On the other hand, some corporate rebrands have more mundane plans in brain, this sort of as the 2015 rebrand of look for motor huge Google to ().

The tech firm shaped Alphabet as a parent to the main look for motor business, which remains its major asset, even though also permitting it to scale the administration of its other business arms, lots of of which include study & growth firms building know-how related to self-driving autos and other so-identified as ‘moon-shot’ jobs.

Shares in RBS ended up .4% decreased at 121p in mid-afternoon buying and selling on Thursday.