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

The bank mentioned the name alter kinds aspect of a tactic to align alone “with the manufacturer underneath which the bulk of our organization is delivered”, with close to eighty{d5f2c26e8a2617525656064194f8a7abd2a56a02c0e102ae4b29477986671105} of its client foundation coming from Natwest

Group PLC () has mentioned it will formally rebrand alone as Natwest Group PLC from July 22, retaining the RBS manufacturer at its Scottish branches but running as NatWest in its other markets.

The banking giant, which also owns the Queen’s bank Coutts and is aspect-owned by the British isles taxpayer, mentioned it will make a subsequent announcement when the name alter can take influence, though its ticker on the LSE will also alter.

Browse: RBS extends incentivised switching plan deadline for organizations

RBS mentioned the name alter programs type aspect of a tactic to align its group name “with the manufacturer underneath which the bulk of our organization is delivered”, as close to eighty{d5f2c26e8a2617525656064194f8a7abd2a56a02c0e102ae4b29477986671105} of the company’s client foundation originates from its Natwest division.

Nonetheless, the name alter may possibly also be a shift by the bank to finally attract a line underneath the lingering toxicity of its RBS name, which has continued to pervade considering the fact that the 2008 money crisis amid a litany of scandals around payment protection coverage (PPI), rate fixing and the behaviour of its Worldwide Restructuring Group (GRG) organization device.

A report released by the Fiscal Perform Authority (FCA) previous yr found that GRG had mistreated compact and medium sized organizations (SMEs) which were being transferred to its manage soon after the crash, with an independent review also uncovering evidence of programs to drain organizations of dollars in buy to obtain property and equity and raise bonuses for specified workers.

Rebrands: the fantastic, the undesirable and the ugly

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

Probably a person of the additional well-known examples of a rebrand gone wrong was the 2001 name alter of Royal Mail Group PLC () to ‘Consignia’, aspect of a tactic by then main government John Roberts to grow the scope of the organization and endeavor to push into global markets.

The £2mln rebrand turned an prompt laughing stock and lasted close to sixteen months right before it was canned, with Roberts himself being consigned to the record of former CEOs of the organization shortly soon after.

Whilst Royal Mail’s shorter-lived rebrand was aspect of an effort to appear to the upcoming of the organization, the rebrand of Arthur Anderson’s consulting arm to in 2001 was, a great deal like RBS, a bid to minimize the business off from its toxic previous.

When a person of the most extensively revered accountancy corporations, Arthur Anderson’s reputation was remaining in tatters following its purpose in the bankruptcy of US electrical power giant Enron, which was found to have made use of questionable accounting techniques to hide credit card debt off its harmony sheet which had been signed off by Anderson’s accountants.

Nonetheless, some corporate rebrands have additional mundane aims in intellect, such as the 2015 rebrand of research motor giant Google to ().

The tech organization shaped Alphabet as a father or mother to the main research motor organization, which remains its largest asset, though also making it possible for it to scale the management of its other organization arms, numerous of which consist of study & enhancement corporations making technology similar to self-driving vehicles and other so-termed ‘moon-shot’ initiatives.

Shares in RBS were being .four{d5f2c26e8a2617525656064194f8a7abd2a56a02c0e102ae4b29477986671105} decreased at 121p in mid-afternoon buying and selling on Thursday.