Reports
AuM, Income Rises At Royal Bank Of Scotland's Private Banking Arm
Results were broadly stronger for last year, and investment performance was a particular stand-out, the CEO of the private banking arm said today.
The private banking arm of Royal Bank of
Scotland, covering Coutts and Adam & Company,
reported a small rise in total income for 2019, coming in at £777
million ($1.014 billion), versus £775 million in the previous
year. Operating profit dipped to £297 million from £303
million.
The cost/income ratio expanded to 62.5 per cent as at 31 December
2019, from 61.7 per cent a year before, RBS, in which the UK
government still holds an ownership stake a decade after the
financial crisis, said in a statement.
Assets under management inched up to £30.4 billion at the end of
last year, rising from £26.4 billion a year before, it said.
Lending increased by £1.2 billion to £15.5 billion, rising by 8.4
per cent.
“We are proud of the very good financial results delivered in
2019 and in particular the increase in new clients we have
welcomed to the Private Bank. In total, we have achieved 31%
growth in new clients year-on-year which is a good indicator for
the future growth of the franchise,” Peter Flavel, private
banking chief executive, said.
“Strong lending growth of £1.2 billion demonstrates that our
approach to tailored lending for high net worth borrowers
continues to deliver results, through personalised expertise and
an understanding of the unique and complex requirements of our
clients,” he continued.
Flavel said investment clients had logged “strong returns” and
latest performance numbers show double-digit returns across
strategies in 2019. For example, the Coutts multi-asset funds had
their best year since they were established in 2012, with the
performance figures meaning that nearly all (10/12) of its funds
are top quartile over one, three and five years.
Across the whole of the RBS group, it reported a profit,
attributable to ordinary shareholders, of £3.133 billion for
2019, against £1.622 billion in 2018.
The group said its The Royal Bank of Scotland name will be changed to NatWest later this year, a move that might raise eyebrows for severing a link to the organisation's Scottish base and connections.
