RBS boss McEwan resigns

Ross McEwawn

The bank said Mr McEwan, who has been in the position for five years, has a 12 month notice period and will remain in his position until a successor has been appointed and an orderly handover has taken place. The effective date of his departure will be confirmed in due course, it added.

The announcement comes on the same day as the bank holds its AGM in Edinburgh.

Ahead of today’s gathering, it was reported last week that investors had been advised to vote down Mr McEwan’s £3.6m remuneration package, which was described as ‘excessive’ by shareholder advisory firm Pirc.

Pirc said elements of the award are ‘inappropriate’, as it pointed out that Mr McEwan was paid 46 times more than the average employee at the still 62.4 per cent-taxpayer-owned bank.

The proxy advisory firm also took issue with Mr McEwan’s total variable pay – at 211.1pc of salary – as it is over the recommended limit of 200pc.

The New Zealander’s pay packet last year was a £1m basic salary, a £1m fixed share allowance and a £1.1m long-term incentive award.

When Mr McEwan took over in 2013, RBS was loss-making and had businesses in 30 countries.

His strategy was to reduce the size of the bank by withdrawing from overseas markets. Last year, the bank had operations in 12 countries.

He also cut costs at the UK banking business, which includes NatWest, by closing branches.

In 2014, the bank employed 109,000 staff, but by the end of last year that was down to 67,100.

After nine years of losses, RBS returned to profit in 2017 and started paying dividends again last year.

Mr McEwan said: “After over five and a half very rewarding years, and with the bank in a much stronger financial position, it is time for me to step down as CEO. It has been a privilege to lead this great bank and to have worked with some really outstanding people in the process. It is never easy to leave somewhere like RBS. However with much of the restructuring done and the bank on a strong and profitable footing, I have delivered the strategy that I set out in 2013 and now feels like the right time for me to step aside and for a new CEO to lead the bank. I’d like to thank the Board, shareholders and UKGI for the support they have shown me during my time at the bank and our colleagues for the remarkable job in turning this bank around.”

RBS Chairman Howard Davies added: “For the past five and a half years Ross has worked tirelessly to make the bank stronger and safer and played the central role in delivering a return to profitability and dividend payments to shareholders. The Board and I are grateful for the huge contribution Ross has made in one of the toughest jobs in banking. His successful execution of the strategy to refocus the bank back on its core markets here in the UK and Ireland has helped to deliver one of the biggest UK corporate turnarounds in history. RBSis now well positioned to succeed in the future in what is a rapidly evolving landscape for the banking sector. We will be conducting an internal and external search for his successor, which will start immediately.”