RBS plans £700m upgrade investment by 2016

Royal Bank of Scotland is to invest £700 million over the next three years upgrading its branches.

The money will be spent on refurbishments across its network of 2,066 branches along with initiatives to improve services to its 15.4 million UK customers.

RBS said the move was part of a continuing shift in focus towards its domestic lending business.

It said it would improve complaints handling, allow customers to open accounts more quickly, simplify the processing of mortgages and provide new self-service machines in its branches. The initiatives are part of a strategy set by Ross McEwan, who was appointed head of RBS’s UK retail business in August last year.

In a presentation to investors yesterday, McEwan said he planned to make RBS the best retail bank in Britain.

“There’s a big space there for it. I’ve not met anyone who believes there’s great retail banking in the UK,” he said. McEwan said the bank will invest in its NatWest and RBS brands and growing market share in Scotland.