RBS appoints new head of Scottish board

Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed a new head of its operations in Scotland.

Malcolm Buchanan, a veteran of the still 73 per cent taxpayer-owned lender’s corporate banking business is to succeed Ken Barclay as chairman of RBS’s board north of the Border.

Mr Buchanan, a chartered banker who has spent 20 years in business banking, working with big corporations and smaller firms during stints in Scotland, Manchester and London, said he was honoured to be appointed to a position in which he will play a key role in the Edinburgh-based bank’s efforts to overcome the legacy of the problems the group has suffered since requiring a £45 billion bailout from taxpayers in 2008.

As the chairman of the Scotland board, Mr Buchanan will head a body that is meant to ensure all parts of the RBS business in Scotland are working together effectively.

RBS serves around 1.7 million personal customers, 120,000 business customers and employs around 11,750 people in Scotland.

The bank said Mr Buchanan will drive the board’s strategy to build a successful and sustainable bank in Scotland and to help it be the premier option for customers.

“I want to play my part in making RBS the bank of choice for people in Scotland by rebuilding trust with our customers and by focusing resolutely on becoming number one for customer service in the country,” said Mr Buchanan.

Last month, RBS’s chief executive, Ross McEwan, said there is still a lot of work to do to return the group to health as it counts the financial and reputational cost of issues such as

Payment protection insurance mis-selling.

Mr Buchanan has been appointed three months after Mr Barclay surprised the market by announcing he intended to leave Royal Bank of Scotland after almost 40 years with the group.

One of the best known business bankers in Scotland, Mr Barclay spent the last three years as chairman of the RBS Scotland board.

It is thought Mr Barclay wanted to consider other possibilities following a long career at RBS.

This included spells running its corporate banking business in Asia Pacific and creating and leading the Technology, Media and Telecoms banking business in the UK and continental Europe.