As McEwan Heads South, Will RBS's Rose Finally Get the CEO Role?
As McEwan Heads South, Will RBS's Rose Finally Get the CEO Role?
(Bloomberg) -- As Ross McEwan announces he’s taken a job in the Southern Hemisphere, the pressure is on Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc to finally reveal whether his successor will be Alison Rose.
State-owned RBS has been searching for McEwan’s successor as chief executive officer for more than a year, and Rose, a lifer at RBS, has been seen as the internal front-runner since former CFO Ewen Stevenson departed. She’d be the first woman to lead a major British lender.
Chairman Howard Davies said in April that there were no favorites and the search would take in external candidates, but speculation continues to focus on Rose, 49, who runs British commercial and private banking.
“It’s a reasonable bet that it could be announced alongside the first-half numbers," said Ian Gordon of Investec Bank Plc. “Ross had already been clear that he’s keen to get on a plane, and any external appointment would likely come with undue delay. I continue to see Alison as the odds-on candidate -- and her confirmation on Aug. 2 would be most welcome."
RBS said earlier Friday that the search was ongoing, and McEwan would stay as chief executive officer until an orderly handover has taken place. In theory, his notice period could extend to next April, a year after he announced he would be resigning.
“I am surprised that she has not been appointed already," Edward Firth, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in London, said of Rose.
It was only April when McEwan, 62, a New Zealander who had spent years working in Australia before becoming the British government’s fix-it man for RBS, announced his intention to step down. He told reporters he and his wife had “nothing planned” for what came next. Three months later, he had agreed to join National Australia Bank Ltd.
“Presumably RBS would have named her CEO already if the recruitment process had been completed," said Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital. “It would be helpful if they could remove the uncertainty before the first-half results, but there is no hurry given that Ross McEwan is still under contract."
To contact the reporters on this story: Stefania Spezzati in London at sspezzati@bloomberg.net;Harry Wilson in London at hwilson57@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Keith Campbell, Marion Dakers
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