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

Team PLC () has mentioned it will formally rebrand by itself as Natwest Team PLC from July 22, retaining the RBS brand at its Scottish branches but operating as NatWest in its other markets.

The banking giant, which also owns the Queen’s bank Coutts and is section-owned by the British isles taxpayer, mentioned it will make a subsequent announcement when the title change will take result, even though its ticker on the LSE will also change.

Browse: RBS extends incentivised switching plan deadline for firms

RBS mentioned the title change strategies sort section of a method to align its team title “with the brand beneath which the greater part of our business enterprise is delivered”, as around eighty{bcdc0d62f3e776dc94790ed5d1b431758068d4852e7f370e2bcf45b6c3b9404d} of the company’s client base originates from its Natwest division.

On the other hand, the title change may well also be a move by the bank to ultimately attract a line beneath the lingering toxicity of its RBS title, which has ongoing to pervade considering the fact that the 2008 economical disaster amid a litany of scandals in excess of payment safety insurance (PPI), fee correcting and the behaviour of its World Restructuring Team (GRG) business enterprise unit.

A report published by the Money Carry out Authority (FCA) very last calendar year uncovered that GRG experienced mistreated compact and medium sized firms (SMEs) which were transferred to its regulate soon after the crash, with an impartial critique also uncovering proof of strategies to drain firms of cash in purchase to receive belongings and equity and improve bonuses for specified staff members.

Rebrands: the great, the terrible and the unappealing

RBS’s imminent rebrand also is the most current chapter in the chequered background of major corporate rebrands.

Potentially one particular of the far more renowned illustrations of a rebrand gone improper was the 2001 title change of Royal Mail Team PLC () to ‘Consignia’, section of a method by then main govt John Roberts to grow the scope of the business enterprise and endeavor to push into intercontinental markets.

The £2mln rebrand grew to become an quick laughing inventory and lasted around sixteen months right before it was canned, with Roberts himself getting consigned to the checklist of former CEOs of the organization shortly soon after.

Although Royal Mail’s small-lived rebrand was section of an effort to glance to the foreseeable future of the business enterprise, the rebrand of Arthur Anderson’s consulting arm to in 2001 was, a great deal like RBS, a bid to minimize the organization off from its toxic past.

The moment one particular of the most broadly respected accountancy companies, Arthur Anderson’s track record was still left in tatters subsequent its role in the individual bankruptcy of US power giant Enron, which was uncovered to have utilised questionable accounting methods to disguise debt off its harmony sheet which experienced been signed off by Anderson’s accountants.

On the other hand, some corporate rebrands have far more mundane ambitions in thoughts, these types of as the 2015 rebrand of look for motor giant Google to ().

The tech organization fashioned Alphabet as a guardian to the main look for motor business enterprise, which remains its largest asset, even though also allowing it to scale the management of its other business enterprise arms, several of which include research & development companies generating engineering linked to self-driving vehicles and other so-termed ‘moon-shot’ jobs.

Shares in RBS were .4{bcdc0d62f3e776dc94790ed5d1b431758068d4852e7f370e2bcf45b6c3b9404d} lessen at 121p in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday.