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"The key result of the strategic review is that we are getting out of retail and SME banking" |
RBS is fully committed to its Asia-Pacific business and is rebuilding its coverage of the region on a tighter platform focused on corporate and investment banking, according to John McCormick, chairman for Asia-Pacific.
After recovering from what McCormick describes as a near-fatal heart attack at the end of 2008, RBS has been selling off non-core businesses globally as it seeks to return value to its rescuer and majority shareholder, the UK government.
Rivals have naturally questioned whether the bank wants or can afford to maintain an investment banking presence in Asia-Pacific. The answer is an unequivocal yes, says McCormick, who sat down with colleagues John Mullins, regional head of banking, and Pierre Ferland, head of markets Asia-Pacific, to set out the RBS strategy in the region and explain why the firm is already back on course.
McCormick says: "The key result of the strategic review conducted by RBS from the end of October 2008 through to February this year is that we are getting out of retail and SME banking globally (except in North America and the UK), and committing instead to wholesale and investment banking worldwide.