Natwest Group PLC completes name change from Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC

Natwest Group PLC has completed its title alter from Group PLC (), adding that its LSE-mentioned shares will alter to the new title with a new ticker ‘NWG’ from Thursday.

“This is a historic day for our financial institution as we develop into NatWest Group plc. Even though there will be no variations to our client models, it can be a symbolic minute for our colleagues and stakeholders. The financial institution has changed fundamentally in excess of the previous ten years and now is the right time to align our team title with the manufacturer below which the bulk of our business enterprise is delivered”, stated main government Alison Rose.

“While what we are referred to as is crucial, it can be how we do business enterprise that defines us…We are making a sustainable and purposeful business enterprise that champions the potential of our shoppers at every single phase of their life, provides for our stakeholders and plays a beneficial purpose in our society”, she included.

The banking huge, which also owns the Queen’s financial institution Coutts and is element-owned by the British isles taxpayer, stated previous Thursday that it will keep the RBS manufacturer at its Scottish branches but run as NatWest in its other markets.

It also stated at the time that the title alter designs shaped element of a tactic to align its team title “with the manufacturer below which the bulk of our business enterprise is delivered”, as all over 80% of the company’s client foundation originates from its Natwest division.

Even so, the title alter may perhaps also be a move by the financial institution to eventually attract a line below the lingering toxicity of its RBS title, which has continued to pervade since the 2008 financial disaster amid a litany of scandals in excess of payment safety coverage (PPI), charge repairing and the conduct of its Worldwide Restructuring Group (GRG) business enterprise unit.

A report printed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) previous yr uncovered that GRG experienced mistreated compact and medium sized organizations (SMEs) which ended up transferred to its regulate just after the crash, with an unbiased overview also uncovering proof of designs to drain organizations of funds in purchase to receive assets and fairness and boost bonuses for certain staff.

Rebrands: the good, the negative and the hideous

RBS’s rebrand also is the latest chapter in the chequered historical past of significant company revamps.

Perhaps just one of the more renowned examples of a rebrand absent completely wrong was the 2001 title alter of Royal Mail Group PLC () to ‘Consignia’, element of a tactic by then main government John Roberts to extend the scope of the business enterprise and try to press into intercontinental markets.

The £2mln rebrand became an quick laughing inventory and lasted all over sixteen months before it was canned, with Roberts himself getting consigned to the record of former CEOs of the business shortly just after.

When Royal Mail’s small-lived rebrand was element of an exertion to glance to the long term of the business enterprise, the rebrand of Arthur Anderson’s consulting arm to in 2001 was, significantly like RBS, a bid to cut the company off from its harmful past.

When just one of the most extensively respected accountancy firms, Arthur Anderson’s status was remaining in tatters pursuing its purpose in the individual bankruptcy of US electricity huge Enron, which was uncovered to have applied questionable accounting tactics to cover credit card debt off its stability sheet which experienced been signed off by Anderson’s accountants.

Even so, some company rebrands have more mundane ambitions in mind, these types of as the 2015 rebrand of look for engine huge Google to ().

The tech business shaped Alphabet as a guardian to the main look for engine business enterprise, which continues to be its most significant asset, though also making it possible for it to scale the management of its other business enterprise arms, a lot of of which involve exploration & growth firms building engineering related to self-driving cars and other so-referred to as ‘moon-shot’ initiatives.

Shares in Natwest Group, which are however trading below the ‘RBS’ ticker, were .four% decrease at 121p in mid-afternoon trading on Wednesday.

–Adds confirmation of title alter, updates share value–