Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed that it will launch ring-fenced retail banking operations on 30 April 2018, which will formally transfer all its retail customers to a separate unit.
The move is being carried out under the new regulation that mandates banks to separate the retail banking and investment banking sections in order to safeguard the common customers.
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RBS, which is 73% owned by the British government, offers retail banking services through its NatWest and Ulster Bank brands.
The non-ring-fenced banking sections will include NatWest Markets, NatWest International, RBS International and Isle of Man Bank.
Recently, Barclays, another British bank, completed the process of ring-fencing where £250bn of assets was transferred to Barclays Bank UK.
This ring-fencing process is application to all financial institutions in the UK to have more than £25bn in core deposits from individuals and small to medium-sized businesses.
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By GlobalDataThe retail unit of these banks will have their own board and capital requirements.
Other UK-based banking institutions such as Lloyds are also expected to carry out the transfer next month, while Santander and HSBC may carry out the process in July following approval from the High Court, reported Sky News.
RBS said that during the transfer process, the customers will not face any disruptions in the regular service.
In February this year, the bank reported its first profit in a decade.
