RBS CEO Ross McEwan Resigns After Turning Bank Around
Ross McEwan, the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has announced his resignation after more than five years in the role. He will stay on until a successor is appointed, serving a 12-month notice period. McEwan has indicated he would like to stay on until 2020 to oversee the bank's transition to a normal commercial lender.
McEwan's leadership has been praised by Howard Davies, chairman of RBS, for turning around the bank and delivering a return to profitability. Under his guidance, RBS has returned to profit, paid its first dividend in a decade, and settled a US sub-prime mis-selling claim for $4.9 billion. He has also strengthened the bank's balance sheet, refocused the business on its core UK operations, and reduced its headcount from 109,000 to 67,100. Additionally, McEwan has sold £330 billion of assets and reduced the number of countries RBS operates in from 38 to 12.
Potential successors for McEwan include Alison Rose, deputy chief executive, and Les Matheson, head of personal banking. Ultimately, Alison Rose was chosen as the first woman to lead a major UK bank, taking over in November 2019.
McEwan's resignation comes as RBS is more than 62% owned by the UK taxpayer, following its £45 billion government bail-out during the 2008 financial crisis. His successor, Alison Rose, will take over a bank that has been significantly transformed under McEwan's leadership.
