The Royal Bank of Scotland has strengthened its Japan business with the appointment for Ernfred Olsen as country executive and head of global banking and markets.

Mr Olsen is the founder of New City Mortgage, a residential mortgage lending platform in Japan. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Chase Manhattan Bank and the Bank of America, the company said in a statement.

His new role gives him the responsibility over a broad range of services in Japan for both the Royal Bank of Scotland Securities Japan and the RBS Tokyo branch, subject to regulatory approvals. He will also serve as overall country manager for the two said businesses.

Mr Olsen takes over from Lee Knight, who has relocated to become head of markets for Singapore. He reports to head of banking Asia Pacific John Mullins and head of markets Asia Pacific Pierre Ferland.

"As one of RBS' global trading hubs, Japan is an important market for us and Ernie will be a key addition as we build the business in the country," said Mr Ferland.

His appointment comes alongside the hiring of Ryusuke Otani as representative in Japan andd chief executive officer of RBSSJ, in addition to his present position as chief operations officer. The company has also named Toby Taniguchi as head of markets, Japan and president of RBSSJ, in addition to his responsibilities as head of GBM sales, Japan.

RBS has been operating in Japan from 1971 and has since grown to a full service bank and securities company offering financing, risk management and investment services.