Howard Davies, chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, told shareholders on Thursday that "an internal and external search" is underway for the new chief executive. The media widely speculated Alison Rose, appointed deputy chief executive of ringfenced subsidiary NatWest Holdings, is under serious consideration for the role. Davies said at an annual meeting that ordinary dividends are seen holding at two fifths of attributable net income.
"Turning to the state of the economy, the prospect is more than usually uncertain. The UK economy has proved remarkably resilient but lack of clarity about our future relations with the EU is undoubtedly having an impact, with consumer confidence muted and many businesses pausing on investment. That will affect our income," he warned and vowed to further support "the low carbon transition."
Current CEO Ross McEwan, who is on a 12-month notice after serving since 2013, said the performance would track the United Kingdom's economy and cited "unprecedented political and economic uncertainty in 2019" with the focus on Brexit. "We will not be closing any further branches in 2019 and have no plans to reduce the branch network in 2020," he claimed and added £300 million is planned to be taken out of the operating cost base this year. RBS expects "traditional payment methods such as cash and cheques" to keep decreasing, McEwan said.
