Mr Marks has also stepped down as chair, and Mr Place as a member of the NatWest Markets N.V (MWM.N.V) supervisory board.

The departures after NatWest Markets was blamed by several analysts for RBS’s £8 million pre-tax loss in the three months to the end of September, after having posted a £961m profit for the same period the year before.

An internal and external search is underway for successors with permanent appointments to be announced in due course.

During the search period, Robert Begbie, RBS treasurer, has been appointed interim NWM chief executive officer and will join the NWM board and the NWM N.V. supervisory board.

Robert Horrocks, RBS treasury finance director, has been appointed interim NWM chief financial officer.

All appointments are subject to regulatory approval. To assist with an orderly transition, Mr Marks will remain with RBS until June 2020, and Mr Place until March 2020.

The Interim RBS treasurer is Donal Quaid, RBS head of treasury markets.

RBS and NWM will publish their FY2019 Annual Results on 14 February 2020. There is no update on the performance of RBS or NWM at this time.

Alison Rose, chief executive of RBS, commented: “The Directors of RBS and NatWest Markets and I would like to thank Chris and Richard for their commitment and dedication to this bank, its staff and its clients. They have set the foundations for the continuing transformation and simplification across NatWest Markets as RBS has been re-shaped to focus on serving its customers in the UK and Ireland, whilst also managing complex organisational changes around ring-fencing and Brexit.

“NatWest Markets plays a crucial role within RBS, allowing us to provide our customers with the products and services they need to succeed. Prior to joining Group Treasury, Robert worked in our markets division for many years and has the experience and expertise required to lead NatWest Markets.”

Chris Marks said: “I am proud to have been a part of the journey to transform the bank and I’d like to thank the many talented people I‘ve had the pleasure of working with. In the face of challenging operating conditions, we continued to provide market-leading products and services to our clients, whilst being relentless in improving efficiency. I wish the new leadership team all the best for the future and am confident that they can build on the considerable progress we have made in recent years.”