RBS 2013 Annual Report Download - page 26

24
Chief Executive’s
review
Ross McEwan
Chief Executive
“ Our focus will be
determined by where
our customers need us,
and where we can serve
their needs better than
anyone else.”
Since 2009 RBS has cleaned up the world’s
largest bank balance sheet by removing
more than £1 trillion in assets. This was a
remarkable achievement, born of absolute
necessity, but delivered with exceptional skill.
These skills now need to be deployed on a
task of equal magnitude: creating a step-
change in the customer service and financial
performance of RBS. The hardest part of
our financial restructuring is now complete,
and we now need to use our strengths and
capabilities to make RBS an example for
everything that should be right with banking.
Since taking up post in October, I have
listened extensively to our customers and
our staff. It is clear to me that people have
not given up on us. Our customers tell me we
have good people with good intentions. But
they also tell me they are frustrated by the
way we work.
The potential for RBS is tangible, we have
points of brilliance, but these are masked
by a heavily damaged reputation, very high
cost base and a structure that reflects the
bank we are leaving behind, not the one we
will become.
We hold many excellent market leading
positions across the bank and, despite
the distractions of our recovery, there are
areas where we have started to excel for our
customers. But this remains an inconsistent
picture and the returns in our strongest
businesses can often be diluted by weaker
parts of the franchise, the price of past
misconduct and an uncompetitive cost base.
We are clear on our purpose as a bank:
to serve customers well, but we are yet to
operate in a way that means we can really
deliver on this. Delivering on our purpose will
mean running the bank differently.
To meet more of our customers’ needs we
must earn more of their trust. This starts
with improving the things that matter most to
customers, and then rewarding their loyalty.
There are too few rewards for customer loyalty
in banking and we need to change this. Loyal
and rewarded customers are the basis for the
higher quality earnings we intend to deliver.
Change won’t happen overnight, but we
are clear where we can improve and our
progress will be evident quarter-by-quarter.
We have already started calling out the
barriers to our ambition.