RBS 2009 Annual Report Download - page 29

27RBS Group Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Divisional review
Wealth
Did you know?
45%
Visits to our websites
increased by 45%
during the year
During the year, we launched the Coutts Charitable Giving Account
in response to client feedback. It helps clients to keep track of their
donations to charities through our online and telephone banking
services. We do not charge any administration fees for this account.
Our centuries-old heritage has seen Coutts progress as a sustainable
and responsible business. We continued to promote this philosophy in
2009, when we launched a social enterprise initiative to inform clients
about this rapidly growing and vibrant sector. Coutts CEO Michael
Morley also ‘job swapped’ with The Big Issue’s Nigel Kershaw. Nigel
spent time at Coutts, learning what we do and how we do it, before
Michael visited the Vauxhall offices of the Big Issue. There he reviewed
their Social Enterprise Investment Fund portfolio, followed by
a live pitch to a potential investor.
At Coutts, we work with many of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and we
are committed to growing our share of that market. One of the ways we
did this in 2009 was by publishing new research about an issue that is
hugely important to our entrepreneurial clients: how they exit from their
business. ‘The Long Goodbye – myths, realities and insights into the
business exits process’ drew on the experiences of some of the UK’s
successful entrepreneurs as well as experts from academia and Coutts.
The report’s key message was simple: plan ahead. More than that,
‘The Long Goodbye’ included concrete guidance about the practical
steps you need to take if you are looking to leave a business that you
have built-up.
Coutts continued to invest in groundbreaking research to enhance its
client proposition. In November, we published the Coutts Million Pound
Donors report, in association with the Centre of Philanthropy at the
University of Kent. It showed the resilience of philanthropy despite
economic difficulties.
Coutts has a tradition of supporting the performing arts that goes
back 300 years. We continued this in 2009 as we became the principal
sponsor of the Almeida Theatre for the seventh year running. Also in
2009, we sponsored the National Theatre’s sold-out performance of
Phedre, which starred Dame Helen Mirren.
Delivery of excellent customer service was at the forefront of RBS
International’s activities. All of our staff supported National Customer
Service Week in October. Among other things, that involved senior
managers swapping places with their customers for a day. The UK
National Customer Service Awards for Financial Services named our Isle
of Man Peel branch the ‘Customer Service Team of the Year’. To win the
accolade they successfully fended off competition from 52 other
entrants. Our customers rated the service we provide at Peel at more
than 96%, a score that places the branch on a par with the very best
service firms in the world.
Adam & Company has been a keen supporter of the arts and we
emphasised this by sponsoring the Scottish Ballet’s 40th anniversary tour.
After discovering high net worth women were turning away from financial
institutions for advice, RBS Coutts launched a new private banking
proposition with them specifically in mind. As part of the RBS Coutts
Woman initiative, we sponsored the Women in Asia awards, which aim
to promote, inspire and recognise the growing ranks of successful
women in business.
We also took some hard financial decisions to support clients by
investing in the business. One of The RBS Group’s biggest investments
in 2009 was in Wealth Management, with multimillion pound funding to
roll out a new technology platform across the business. It is part of the
Wealth Management Platform Programme and will revolutionise how our
private bankers support their clients. This will also be the first time Adam
& Company, Coutts and RBS Coutts will be on a single global platform.
Our private bankers will have a single view of each client and the number
of administrative tasks they have to undertake will diminish. This will make
them more productive, reduce our costs and, we hope, enhance the
service our clients receive. It will also give us much better management
information and will support all of our major brands.