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RBS unveils Ross McEwan as new boss

Published: 02:34 02 Aug 2013 EDT

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Ross McEwan will make the step-up to chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) as the bank revealed the New Zealander will take over from current boss Stephen Hester in October.

McEwan joined the state-backed bank in September last year as head of its UK Retail arm.

His main role will be overseeing the re-privatisation of the bank, which was bailed out by the government at the height of the financial crisis.

He takes the reins from Hester, who has been credited with saving the bank from the brink of collapse in his five-year spell.

The appointment sees RBS follow in the footsteps of Barclays, which promoted retail boss Antony Jenkins to group chief executive last year.

RBS chairman Philip Hampton said: “With his extensive experience in banking and the leadership that he has shown in his time at RBS, Ross will be a great chief executive for the group. Ross has already become a champion for customers in our business and will continue that role as CEO.”

“This is a job that is among the most important and challenging in the business world, and Ross has shown that he has the drive and capability to take it on.

“I conducted an international search for this position so our internal candidates could be benchmarked against the very best in the market. Ross was the strongest candidate and I am delighted he has been appointed.”

Hampton continued: “Five years on from its rescue, RBS is now a safe and strong bank - our focus is now on building a really good bank for our customers and shareholders, returning the bank to private ownership, and playing our full part in supporting the UK economy.”

The news came alongside the bank’s first half results, which revealed it swung to a profit in the first six months of 2013.

Pre-tax profits were £1.4bn compared with a loss of £1.7bn in 2012.

Importantly, Hester said the results show “RBS’s journey from “bust bank” to “normal bank” is largely done”.

The bank set aside another £620mln, of which £385mln was to cover “regulatory and legal actions”, including the Libor investigation and other probes. Another £185mln was added to the pot to pay back customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).

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