Card Issuer Profile: RBS

This publication has been discontinued on July 19, 2011.

Introduction

Abstract

Overview

Introduction

RBS is one of the oldest banks in the UK. Since its acquisition of NatWest in 2000, it has embarked on a program of international expansion and, outside of the UK, now operates in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. This profile focuses primarily on RBS' s card operations, providing an overview of its current market positioning and outlook for the future.

Reasons to Purchase

• Understand the key elements of RBS' s strategy and approach in the card issuing space, and see how this can be applied to your business.
• Learn how this strategy positions RBS for the future and where its biggest opportunities may lie.
• See how RBS stacks up in Datamonitor' s unique Competitor Benchmark exercise.

Table of Contents

• Overview
  • Catalyst
  • Summary
• Table of Contents
• Table of figures
• Table of tables
• RBS
  • Key findings
  • Company overview
    • Background
    • Ownership and management
      • RBS board of directors
      • Employees
      • Management values
    • Company structure
      • Retail Markets is comprised of four divisions
    • Geographic coverage
      • RBS has expanded internationally through a combination of organic growth, acquisition and strategic partnerships
    • Card statistics
      • Number of debit cards in issue
      • Number of credit cards in issue
    • Key financials
      • Profit and loss account
      • Balance sheet
    • Card product offering
      • RBS introduced a new pricing program on UK credit cards in 2007
      • RBS was the first to introduce contactless technology on payment cards in the UK
      • RBS trials mobile payments in the UK
      • RBS launches mobile banking service
    • Distribution
  • Company outlook
    • RBS has adopted a vast multi-brand strategy in its cards business
      • Joint venture partnerships have proved to be a success and should be considered in the medium term
    • RBS has a strong position in the UK but the market conditions are difficult
    • The combination of RBS with ABN AMRO' s Client Business Units provides RBS with a platform to grow its credit card offerings further
    • Outside the UK, RBS has scope to grow consumer businesses within Europe
      • However, both Santander and Fortis will strengthen their position in the retail banking market in Europe
      • There is an opportunity to grow in the rest of Europe, where credit card penetration is low
    • Latin and North America: There is potential to grow credit card business in the Americas
    • Asia-Pacific: the potential to build credit card business across the region is significant
      • It seems that RBS will use its position in China to expand further into the region
  • Datamonitor Competitor Benchmark
• APPENDIX
  • Definitions
    • Co-branded card
    • Commercial card
    • Contactless card
    • Corporate card
    • Credit card
    • Private label card
    • Purchasing cards
  • Supplementary data
  • Methodology
  • Further reading
  • Ask the analyst
  • Datamonitor consulting
  • Disclaimer
  • List of Tables
    • Table 1: RBS board of directors and executive committee details, 2008
    • Table 2: RBS group global employees by function, 2002-06
    • Table 3: Timeline of RBS' s major market entry and expansion activities, 2000-07
    • Table 4: Retail markets and Citizens were the second and fourth largest contributors to the group' s profit, respectively, in 2007
    • Table 5: A selection of RBS credit card offering in the UK, 2008
    • Table 6: A selection of RBS credit card offering in the US, 2008
    • Table 7: Scorecard logic, part one
    • Table 8: Scorecard logic, part two
    • Table 9: RBS debit cards in issue by geography, 2006
    • Table 10: RBS credit cards in issue by geography, 2006
    • Table 11: RBS credit card balances outstanding by geography, 2006
    • Table 12: The revenues, costs and net profits of the RBS group, 2003-07
    • Table 13: RBS balance sheet, 2002-06
    • Table 14: Current relevant Datamonitor publications, 2008
    • Table 15: Future relevant Datamonitor publications, 2008
  • List of Figures
    • Figure 1: RBS' s credit card operations are concentrated in the following countries around the globe, 2008
    • Figure 2: The UK is the largest market, with 78.1% of RBS' s total issued debit cards in 2006, 2002-06
    • Figure 3: RBS had 14.5 million credit cards in issue in 2006, 2002-06
    • Figure 4: The value of balances outstanding was €17.6 billion in 2006, 2002-06
    • Figure 5: RBS has demonstrated strong financial performance during 2003-07
    • Figure 6: RBS has a large balance sheet, 2003-07
    • Figure 7: RBS' s competitor benchmark

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