ABN Amro UAE to be rebranded as RBS

All ABN Amro businesses in the UAE from its consumer, commercial to wholesale banking portfolios will now be branded RBS.

This follows the acquisition of ABN Amro, a Dutch bank, by a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in October last year.

Colin Macdonald, Head of the Middle East for RBS, said that while its customers can look forward to an "increased scale and efficiencies" there will be no changes to client's account numbers, bank accounts and their relationship details will remain the same.

One of the strategies is to target the 140,000 British expatriates in the UAE.

According to Julian George, Head of Middle East and Asia, International Personal Banking at RBS International, they would be able to provide "seamless service on the ground" through the local experience of Abn Amro and the strong branding of RBS among the Britons.

"RBS International is offshore and we have the RBS Royal Preferred banking – used to be ABN Amro's Van Gogh Preferred Banking – which is onshore. So now you have the abilities of onshore and offshore propositions and the ability to move in between," George told Emirates Business.

"We are taking about 140,000 British people in the UAE and for sure RBS is a brand that they would know. Back in the UK, our actual market share is actually 20 per cent," he said, adding that with the new scheme, customers can now transfer funds free of charge.

The bank, which has three branches and two customer service centres in the UAE, is expected to roll out new retail products in the next few months.

Macdonald said they also plan to expand in the UAE, noting that they have already asked the central bank to obtain additional licence.

Foreign banks in the UAE have restrictions on number of branches, and ABN Amro is one among the many foreign banks like Lloyds TSB and HSBC who have applied for new licences.

"The area of focus is the UAE because we have been established here and we have been in the UAE for 35 years. But we are also looking at expanding in Qatar and Bahrain," said Macdonald.

The bank is currently one of the leading players in the credit card portfolio, having a 14 per cent market share in the UAE.

Macdonald said the bank intends to keep that position in the credit card sector, while also looking at exploring other opportunities in mortgage, Islamic banking and asset management.

He said Islamic banking in the Global Banking and Markets division is more likely to be developed earlier than in the retail sector.

"Islamic banking business is growing very strongly and we are looking at all areas in terms of Islamic banking," Macdonald said. "There are transactions within the global banking area which we are already doing. The retail side is a different proposition as it is more of a volume product and we have to plan that a bit further." The bank has already sold $2 billion (Dh7.3bn) Shariah-compliant funds since starting Islamic banking facilities from the beginning of 2007. This progress put it among the top four banks in the region offering Shariah-compliant equity derivatives and structured solutions.

Overall, the bank has doubled its revenue in the last two years, Macdonald said.

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