LONDON: State-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland promoted New Zealander Ross McEwan to the post of chief executive yesterday ahead of the bank’s expected return to the private sector.
RBS, 81-percent owned by the British taxpayer after the world’s most expensive bank bailout, said its head of retail business would take charge from October, alongside news that it had returned to profit. The 56-year-old replaces Stephen Hester who recently announced that he would step down later this year.
“The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc announces today that Ross McEwan has been appointed as a director and group chief executive with effect from 1 October 2013,” the Edinburgh-based bank said in a statement.
McEwan, who is married with two children, will earn an annual salary of £1m ($1.5m). He will receive also a cash allowance in lieu of a pension totalling 35 percent of his salary.
While he is eligible to receive a long-term incentive award in 2014, McEwan does not wish to be considered for an annual bonus in 2014 or for the remainder of 2013, the statement said.
RBS announced also that it had posted a net profit of £535m in the six months to the end of June compared with a loss after tax of £2bn in the first half of 2012.
“RBS figures are being overshadowed by the announcement of Ross McEwan as new CEO, replacing Stephen Hester who widely regarded as the saviour of RBS by the market,” said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital.
“McEwan’s strategy may be one that steers the bank toward a heavy retail banking mix over investment bank — a strategy widely regarded as effective to spur profitability for the bank,” he added.
Currrent RBS chief executive Hester surprised markets in June by announcing that he would leave the bank before the end of 2013.
His departure, reportedly at the request of Britain’s coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron, has sparked questions about the strategy for the state-rescued bank.
British finance minister George Osborne said that McEwan would “provide the leadership RBS needs as the bank puts the mistakes of the past behind it, and the government seeks to get the best value for the taxpayer from the money the last government put into the bank”. McEwan, who joined RBS as head of its retail banking operations only last September, said it was “a privilege to lead a bank that matters to so many”.
AFP
