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Professional Services

Royal Bank of Scotland group to rebrand to NatWest and hand £600m dividend to taxpayers

The group is to carry out a rebrand as 80% of customers bank with Natwest

Royal Bank of Scotland(Image: PA)

The Royal Bank of Scotland is to undergo a rebrand in the first major decision by new chief executive Alison Rose, changing its name to NatWest plc.

The rebrand is being made because 80% of customers bank with the NatWest brand, rather than through RBS branches, adding that it will have no impact on customers or staff.

The decision comes as Ms Rose unveiled a 5p-a-share special dividend, although the full-year dividend was cut from 3.5p to 3p.

It means the bank's biggest shareholder - the Government - will receive a payout of nearly £600m.

With the interim dividend paid out earlier this year, it means the taxpayer has been handed £1.7bn so far this year.

Making the payment is possible because the bank managed to hit an operating profit before tax of £4.2bn - up 26% from £3.4 billion in 2018.

The results were boosted by the merger of Alawwal Bank and the Saudi British Bank, in which RBS had a stake, but was knocked by an extra £900 million in PPI payments.

Ms Rose, who was also making a speech to staff this morning setting out her strategy, added: "These results are a reminder of the strong foundations we have built. Our profits are up, our capital position remains strong, and this year we will have returned a further £2.7bn to our shareholders.