Skip to content
City PM
  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • DE
  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • Markets
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • DE
Monday 12 October 2015 8:31 am

Royal Bank of Scotland is rebranding (but you may not notice)

By: Lynsey Barber

Add as a preferred source on Google

What better way for banks to distance themselves from a disastrous decade of bailouts and the Libor scandals than a rebrand.

Now Royal Bank of Scotland, or RBS as we know it on the high street, is taking a big step forward by, er, changing those three letters from upper case to lower case. Literally, "decapitalising", as the Guardian reports. 

Much like when Superman dons a pair of glasses to become Clark Kent, the change from RBS to rbs will help the bank, and its customers, forget there was ever any kind of banking crisis.

It's almost as creative as HSBC renaming its UK retail operations HSBC UK.

Along with that, its NatWest brand will become "more prominent", while the investment side of the bank will be called RBS markets (aka rbs markets), according to the report. And while the familiar logo will remain on the high street, it will disappear from corporate branding.

Almost as exciting as the name change itself is what RBS told the Guardian about the rebrand: “We are, and always have been, a bank of brands and as part of our strategy to build a stronger, simpler, fairer bank we are directing our efforts to make each of our customer brands number one in their respective markets.

"Our brands are our interface with our customers and through them we will be able to connect more deeply with customers and rebuild pride in the great things these brands do for our customers. The collective success of our brands is what will make us Britain’s best bank.” Er, quite. 

Share this article

  • Facebook
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Similarly tagged content:

Sections

  • Markets & Economics

Categories

  • Markets

Trending Articles

  • Citroën 2CV returns as a £13,000 electric car, and the timing is no accident

  • The former African gold miner taking on the billionaire Issa brothers

  • Music tycoon Simon Cowell sued by prominent City lawyer

  • Exclusive: Big Four giant KPMG to cut more jobs

  • As it happened: Choppy day for FTSE 100 after Iran closes Strait of Hormuz as strikes ramp up

More from City PM

  • Natwest hit with £250m lawsuit tied to Thurrock Council scandal

    Banking
    NatWest bank branch exterior with signage, reflecting current branch network changes amidst financial industry updates
  • HSBC bags £135m from former Silicon Valley Bank as job cuts push up restructuring bill

    Banking
    Picture of HSBC building outside.
  • HSBC coughs up $25m over Australian scam failures

    Banking
    HSBC's Canary Wharf office.
  • Halifax ends 173-year high street run as Lloyds ditches branding

    Banking
    Halifax branch exterior showcasing modern architecture and signage, highlighting financial services in a bustling city area
  • Lloyds Bank and Halifax customers hit with app outage

    Banking
    Lloyds is plotting to beef up its wealth offering.
  • Natwest to pump £50m into branches after shuttering over a thousand

    Banking
    NatWest bank front entrance with logo and signage on urban street, highlighting financial institution presence in the city.
  • HSBC targets $100m in savings with Google Cloud AI tie-up

    Banking
    Picture of HSBC building outside.
  • Government-backed ESG reporting platform put up for sale as firms backtrack on eco-goals

    Business
    ESG reporting platform G17 Eco backed by British Business Bank, symbolizing corporate sustainability challenges

City PM — European politics, business and analysis.

Europe

  • Germany
  • France
  • Europe
  • UK & Ireland

Topics

  • Business
  • Markets
  • AI
  • Technology
  • Opinion
  • Energy

More

  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Fintech
  • Legal
  • Sport
  • Life

Company

  • About City PM
  • Editorial Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2026 City PM · Published by CityPM Media, Bahnhofstrasse 65, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
About · Editorial Policy · Corrections · Contact · Privacy · Facebook