Royal Bank of Scotland appoints Alison Rose as CEO

By Reuters On Sep 20, 2019

FILE PHOTO: A man uses a cashpoint machine outside a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the City of London August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) has appointed Alison Rose as its new chief executive, becoming the first major British lender to appoint a woman to its top job.

Rose, who was widely tipped to get the role, will succeed outgoing CEO Ross McEwan on November 1. He is due to join National Australia Bank (AX:NAB) as their next chief executive.

Rose has worked at the bank for 27 years and takes on the role at a pivotal time for the lender, as British banks prepare for the economic fallout if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal next month.

She will also be tasked with further patching up RBS’s damaged reputation and trying to return the bank to private hands, more than a decade after its 45 billion pound state rescue in the financial crisis.

“Following a rigorous internal and external process, I am confident that we have appointed the best person for the job,” RBS Chairman Howard Davies said in a statement.

Rose will receive a fixed base salary of 1.1 million pounds ($1.38 million)a year plus a fixed share allowance set at 100% of her salary. That’s up slightly from McEwan who has a base pay of 1 million pounds a year, plus a 100% fixed share allowance.

However Rose’s pension will be set at 10% of her salary in line with other RBS employees, compared to McEwan who is receiving 350,000 pounds a year in pension funding.

British banks have been criticized by investors this year for giving their executives more favorable pension arrangements than the rest of their workforce.