| I have a long and established
relationship with the Scottish North American Business
Council (SNABC) having joined the SNABC back in 2002.
After returning from two years working in the US, I
was keen to ensure that the bank was able to identify
opportunities to assist US companies investing in Scotland.
The SNABC enables me to do just that – by providing
a forum to keep up to date with various initiatives
and meet people with an interest in UK/Scottish relations.
The SNABC also arrange a series of excellent networking
events for their extensive membership, which has enabled
me to form some very worthwhile relationships. I have
been on the Board of the SNABC for over two years now
and I have met a number of senior individuals from both
the public and private sector that make up the Board
and its members. We are therefore proud to be the premier
sponsor of the BABC autumn conference in 2005. The Royal
Bank of Scotland is a major force in the provision of
trade-related financial services and we fully recognise
the role international trade can play in helping businesses
maximise their potential. We believe this event will
be an ideal platform to emphasis the importance of transatlantic
trade to the Scottish economy.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is one of the
world’s leading financial services companies.
With a market capitalisation of £53.3bn on 14
December 2004, we now rank as the sixth largest bank
in the world, and second largest in Europe and the UK(1).
RBS operates in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific, serving
more than 30 million customers worldwide and employing
approximately 135,000 people. In addition to the provision
of a full range of banking services under The Royal
Bank of Scotland, RBS also provides banking solutions
via its wholly-owned subsidiary Citizens Financial Group
(Citizens) and RBS Greenwich Capital, both based in
the US.
Citizens
Citizens is engaged in retail and corporate banking
activities through its branch network in the states
of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. It is the 11th
largest commercial banking organisation in the US measured
by deposits(2). It provides
a full range of retail and corporate banking services,
including personal banking, residential mortgages and
home equity loans and engages in a wide variety of commercial
loans (including real estate), consumer lending, credit
card services, trust services and retail investment
services.
RBS Greenwich Capital
RBS Greenwich Capital is a fixed-income sales, trading
and finance firm that has served institutional clients
for more than 20 years. Headquartered in Greenwich (Connecticut),
RBS Greenwich Capital also has offices in Chicago, Atlanta,
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, and affiliates
in London and Asia. RBS Greenwich Capital tailors debt
capital market solutions and has a leading position
in US treasuries and asset-backed securities, with its
US Government sales and trading operations ranked Number
One and Number Two respectively(3).
Global reach
The scale of our business has grown significantly over
the past five years through strong organic growth and
acquisitions including that of Charter One Bank by Citizens
last summer, thus reinforcing the geographical reach
of RBS in the US and worldwide. Against this backdrop
of increasing globalisation, our customers are focusing
more on international business. To support them, it
is vital to provide a high-quality, end-to-end, cross-border
banking proposition.
Our credentials
We have established relationships with hundreds of banks
across the world and many of them have selected The
Royal Bank of Scotland to be their UK corporate banking
and international cash management provider. As a result
of our commitment to this market, 31% of all overseas
companies operating in the UK have chosen The Royal
Bank of Scotland as their UK banking provider(4).
In addition, our international corporate customers
increasingly demand the ability to access their accounts
and funds in overseas locations. The Royal Bank of Scotland
is one of Europe’s leading International Cash
Management banks, with a well-developed network of 50
partner banks across 29 countries and an extensive range
of International Cash Management products. The Royal
Bank of Scotland offers a wider range of products and
services to fulfil companies’ international banking
requirements, including a full suite of payment, trade
and cash management services, our specialist International
Trade Finance team and a wide range of cash deposit
and investment products in all major currencies.
Making the next move
At The Royal Bank of Scotland, our established networks
in the US and worldwide, and comprehensive product range,
allow us to offer considerable benefits to customers.
We take time to understand a customer’s international
business fully – trading relationships, critical
points for working capital, and so on – within
the context of their overall strategy, in order to put
together appropriate solutions that work. When it comes
to trading internationally, The Royal Bank of Scotland
can offer your business all the help, support and advice
you need.
For more information, contact
Derek Weir, Managing Director,
Commercial Banking UK, on:
Tel: +44 (0) 131 523 8514
E-mail: derek.weir@rbs.co.uk
Website: www.rbs.co.uk
1 Datastream; 2 RBS Interim
Results 2004; 3 RBS Annual Report and Accounts 2003;
4 pH Group 2003;
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