Caps off – RBS set to rebrand as… rbs
The banking giant is plotting a new corporate identity as it continues to rebrand following its 2008 government bailout.
Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to ditch its upper-case RBS identity in favour of a lower-case rbs logo as it continues its rebrand drive in the wake of its government bail-out.
The move comes as the bank is already starting to remove the RBS name from the high street.
Last year RBS launched a new look in Scotland. Its branches did away with the RBS logo they had used for 11 years to become known as Royal Bank of Scotland again, the name which was originally used when the company was founded in 1727.
High-street rebrand
In England and Wales, RBS operates the NatWest high-street banking brand. It is also expected to revive the Williams & Glyn brand as part of a move forced upon RBS by the European Union following its government bailout.
In 2008 the UK Government bailed out the Royal Bank of Scotland Group to the tune of £34 billion after it filed losses of more than £24 billion. The following year Royal Bank of Scotland Group chief executive Fred ‘the Shred’ Goodwin resigned.
As a result of this bailout, the bank is being forced to sell off 308 high street branches, which are expected to relaunch under the Williams & Glyn name.
Lower-case logos
In conjunction with its high-street rebrand, RBS has also confirmed that it will relaunch its corporate identity and is expected to introduce a lower-case rbs logo to be used in communications with investors.
An RBS spokesman says: “We are and always have been a bank of brands and as part of our strategy to build a stronger, simpler, fairer bank we are directing our efforts to make each of our customer brands number one in their respective markets.
Our brands are our interface with our customers and through them we will be able to connect more deeply with customers and rebuild pride in the great things these brands do for our customers.
HSBC also rebranding
“The collective success of our brands is what will make us Britain’s best bank.”
The move comes after rival banking giant HSBC announced that it is relaunching its British high street banks under the new HSBC UK brand.
HSBC’s rebrand of its retail banking offer comes ahead of new Bank of England rules – coming into force in 2019 – which will force banking groups to legally separate out their retail banking offers.
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