RBS 2005 Annual Report Download - page 25

Divisional review
23
2005
Retail Markets was established
in June 2005 to strengthen
co-ordination and delivery of
our full range of retail services
through all our brands and
channels. It has brought together
the three businesses – Retail
Banking, Retail Direct and Wealth
Management – which focus on
the interests of our personal
and small business customers.
In a challenging market, Retail
Markets increased total income
by 7% to £8,213 million.
 The number of personal Retail Banking
customers increased by 274,000 (2%), with personal
current accounts up 275,000 (2%); Retail Direct
increased its total customer accounts by 734,000
(4%); and Wealth Management increased its client
base with Coutts UK personal customers up 7%
and Adam & Company up 11%.
 In Retail Banking, average loans and
advances to customers grew by 11%, with average
mortgage balances up 12%, personal lending up
10% and small business lending up 9%. In Retail
Direct, average loans to customers grew by 15%,
personal loan balances grew by 11% and
mortgage lending grew by 34%. In Wealth
Management, average loans to clients grew by
20%, while average client deposits grew by 11%.
Retail Banking has the largest network of bank
branches and ATMs in the UK and is the leading bank
for small business customers. In 2005 Retail Banking
increased its total income by 5% to £5,433 million.
 In 2005 our measures to improve customer
service were rewarded when The Royal Bank of
Scotland secured top position amongst the high street
banks, and NatWest moved into joint second position,
for customers who rate themselves “extremely
satisfied” with their main current account provider.
Source: Gfk Financial Research Survey, 12 months to November
2005; high street banks defined as RBS, NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds
TSB, HSBC and HBOS.
 We added nearly 800 people to our
Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest branch networks
and telephony service, improved personal access
for customers by opening new branches and
continuing our refurbishment programme, increased
the number of branches open on Saturdays and
extended our mobile banking service.
 Our quality of service has also been
enhanced by our new Customer Service Review/
Personal Service Review, which enables our people
to run a comprehensive financial health check
tailored to a customer’s individual circumstances.
The Review offers recommendations to meet the
customer’s immediate and future needs. Our
revised Customer Account Opening system enables
our customers to open additional accounts within
minutes, whether they use our branches, telephone
service or the internet.
 Continued emphasis on long-term savings,
assisted by excellent salesforce recruitment and
retention, resulted in an increase of 25% in sales in
our joint venture for life assurance and investments.
The second half of 2005 saw record sales volumes,
up 52% on the same period in 2004. Our team of
Financial Planning Managers continues to grow, with
more of them located in our branches to broaden the
services we can offer through the network. The launch
of new investment products enabled us to provide our
customers with more choice and better value.
Make it happen
Passion