Royal Bank of Scotland is changing its name to NatWest

Royal Bank of Scotland today announced it will change its name to NatWest later this year in what is seen as an attempt to distance itself from the 2008 bailout.

The Edinburgh-based bank, which owns RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank, said it would rename itself as NatWest Group.

Chief executive Alison Rose announced the ‘major rebranding’ this morning as the bank reported its annual results for 2019, including a surge in profits.

The bank, which is 62%-owned by the government, said there would be no impact on jobs through the rebranding and that 80% of its customer base already came under NatWest.

Reporting a profit of £3.1 billion for 2019 – nearly double the £1.6 billion seen the year before – Ms Rose said it was the ‘start of a new era’ for the bank.

She told the BBC’s Today programme that the name change would not alter any services for RBS or NatWest customers as she set out a series of new priorities, including incentive-linked targets covering climate and support for ethnic minority entrepreneurs.

The bank said it would make its own operations ‘net carbon zero’ by the end of 2020.

Ms Rose became the first female boss of a major High Street bank when she was appointed last year.

In 2008, Royal Bank of Scotland was rescued by the government with a taxpayer bailout of £45 billion in the aftermath of the financial crisis and has remained state-owned ever since.