RBS to search for new executives for its investment bank NatWest Markets

A subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), NatWest Markets, has been underperforming for quite some time. As of Thursday, RBS announced that the top management team at the investment bank has been laid off. The move came as one of the first attempts by the new RBS Chief Executive Officer, Alison Rose, to revive the executive team at NatWest Markets and improve its performance in the long run.

NatWest Market’s CFO And CEO Announce Their Departure

It was further highlighted in Thursday’s announcement that CFO Richard Place And CEO Chris Marks will no longer be a part of NatWest Markets. According to the Royal Bank of Scotland, search has already begun to find a suitable replacement for both the CFO and the CEO. The bank is considering both the internal and external candidates for the job.

In the meantime, Robert Begbie has been declared the interim CEO for NatWest Markets. The position of the CFO has been offered to Robert Horrocks on a temporary basis as the bank finds a permanent replacement for the two executive positions.

According to Rose, the departing CEO and CFO have played their role in laying the foundations on which the transformation and simplification of the investment bank will be extended in the upcoming months. She further added that the role of NatWest Markets is imperative for RBS to consistently offer services and products to the customers that cater to their requirements.

In the fiscal third quarter, trading at NatWest Markets remained dull that manifested in the form of significant quarterly loss for the Royal Bank of Scotland. Analysts had called RBS’s performance in the third quarter “disappointing”.

Investors Want RBS To Focus On Businesses With Higher Returns

According to October’s report, investors are consistently pushing RBS to switch its focus from investment banking to businesses with higher returns. Alison Rose assumed the role of CEO at RBS on October 31^st. By February, she is expected to announce the full-year performance results of RBS along with a new strategy aimed at improving performance in the upcoming quarters.  

RBS has remained reluctant in printing major gains in the stock market in 2019 so far. The stock opened at $5.51 at the start of the year and was seen trading as high as $7.24 in March. The high was followed by consistent downward rallies that saw the share prices drop significantly to $4.35 in August. The stock has, however, regained much of the losses and is currently exchanging hands at $6.61.