Rose through the ranks: RBS picks lifer for top role
It was was the worst kept secret in the Square Mile: on Friday morning Alison Rose was finally appointed as the new chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, but the only surprise was that the announcement did not come any sooner.
RBS has insisted that it underwent a thorough job process which involved looking at outsider candidates, but as a veteran of the company with a proven track record and a reputation for working hard, Rose was always the favourite to take over the top job.
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Her appointment comes at a challenging time for one of the UK’s largest lenders and high street mainstays, with Brexit uncertainty, rising competition and lower interest rates all posing problems.
Ross McEwan, the current chief executive who is heading back Down Under to National Australia Bank, has won plaudits across the Square Mile for his turnaround plan at the firm.
Having taken over a loss-making bank with business in 30 countries, the New Zealander has since returned the taxpayer-owned lender to profit and scaled back its operations to just 12 countries.
But shares are nearly 30 per cent below where they were when he started the job and the current environment is causing a headache for investors.
Insiders and analysts nonetheless forecast that there will be no radical changes any time soon under Rose, the 49-year-old who has spent her entire career with the nearly-300 year-old bank.
Rose herself confirmed it in her statement last week: “Maintaining the safety and soundness of this bank will continue to underpin everything we do,” she said.
In her new role she will be paid roughly £1.1m plus £1.1m in shares and £26,250 in other benefits, taking her basic pay to more than £2.2m a year.
One former senior executive at RBS said: “In many ways Ross and Alison are pretty similar – both are popular with their staff and are good at keeping out of the media.”
The person added: “Alison can be very charming, particularly when it comes to meeting staff and clients. But she’s very tough behind close doors.”
Her appointment marks a milestone for the banking sector, with Rose becoming the first woman to head up one of the UK’s big four banks. Growing up in a military family across the globe, she returned back to England at the age of 15 before going on to study history at Durham University.
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Having then joined Natwest on a graduate scheme, Rose worked her way up the ranks.
Like most bankers, her darkest hour came during 2008, when RBS found itself at the very heart of the financial crisis. She played a critical role in helping to restructure the bank’s balance sheet in the wake of the crash, when the beleaguered RBS needed a £45bn state bailout.
Ten years on, the bank faces a fresh set of challenges. Having once remarked that she had “the best job in the bank” as the head of the firm’s commercial and private banking division, Rose now faces the tough task of leading the entire group as it attempts to weather stormy conditions ahead.