RBS boss tipped for top job at Australia’s largest bank

Royal Bank of Scotland Group chief executive Ross McEwan is among the potential candidates to take the helm of Australia’s largest bank, according to new reports.

The Financial Times reported this week that the New Zealander is on a shortlist to become the chief executive of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where is previously served as a director of the lender’s retail banking division.

Citing “people close to the process”, the FT said Mr McEwan, who joined RBS in 2012, will be a leading candidate for the role given his links with the bank.

Mr McEwan was head of CBA’s retail banking division from 2003 before joining RBS in 2012, and narrowly lost the chance to become chief executive to Mr Narev six years ago when he moved to Edinburgh to take over at the bailed-out bank, which remains more than 70 per cent state-owned to this day.

At RBS Mr McEwan has initiated a major restructuring of the bank to reverse the aggressive global expansion strategy pursued by disgraced former boss Fred Goodwin that led to its £45 billion taxpayer rescue.

Mr McEwan said earlier this year that he expects RBS to return to profit in 2018, after suffering from 10 consecutive years of net annual losses.