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Introduction
Many students during the studies are already looking to secure a job, whereas many institutions are providing graduate programmes. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is not an exception; in fact it provides more than 20 graduate programmes, as well as, internships for the first and penultimate year students. Thus, the purpose of this report is to establish whether RBS Group is suitable institution for graduates. This particular bank was researched for the purpose of completing job search portfolio.
History and Background
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) was founded in 1727, with initial staff of just eight people operating in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Later on in 1783 the first branch was opened in fast-growing trading city of Glasgow. Due to RBS’s success a great number of branches were opened across the Scotland, whereas in 1874, the first office was opened in city of London (RBS Group, 2009).
Throughout the decades the RBS Group was expanding by opening new branches and acquiring other banks. Thus in 2000 it has acquired National Westminster Bank in the biggest banking takeover in Britain, consequently inheriting more than 200 branches of NatWest. It was followed by the biggest takeover in banking history – consortium to acquisition of Dutch bank ABN AMRO (RBS Group, 2009).
While the RBS Group’s headquarters is located in Edinburgh, its branches are spread all over the world, therefore it has more than 40 million customers worldwide, 25 million of which are served in the United Kingdom. Moreover, having more than 280 years of experience in financial services, it owns more than 2000 branches and over 4500 ATM’s across the UK, meaning their ownership of one of the largest branch networks in the country (RBS Group, 2009a). The Royal Bank of Scotland is also one of the biggest banks in the UK, thus its main rivals are Lloyds TSB and HBOS, Barclays and HSBC.
Structure
According to RBS (2009b), RBS Group is split into six operating divisions, which are:
* UK Personal
Comprises of retail, corporate and commercial banking and wealth management
* UK Corporate
Serving UK corporate and commercial customers from SMEs to UK based multi nationals
* RBS Insurance
It sells and underwrites personal lines and SME insurance over the telephone and online, as well as through brokers, RBS group bank branches and partnerships
* US Retail and Commercial Banking
Provides financial services through Citizens Financial Group in the US.
* Europe and Middle East Retail and Commercial banking
Provides financial services through Ulster Bank in the Europe and Middle East
* Global Banking and Markets
Provides banking services and integrated financial solutions to major corporations and financial institutions around the world
Performance
It is obvious that most companies are struggling to maintain profitability in spite of global financial and economic crisis. Thus, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group was affected the most during the financial turmoil as according to BBC (2009) it has reported a record loss in the UK history of £24.1 billion. However, the recent announcement of annual results for year 2009 shows considerable improvements in RBS Group’s performance; despite the fact of making loss, throughout the year it was reduced from £24.1 billion down to £3.6 billion (Guardian, 2010).
Graduate Training Schemes
Firstly, for the first year students, there is an Eastern Insight programme which lasts for one week. This week will include technical training, networking events and time spent shadowing senior members of the team. Secondly, for penultimate year students, summer internship is the right choice, which offers range of ten-week to 6-month internships across all different business areas of RBS Group. For graduates there is a choice of more than 20 graduate programmes in all areas of business and finance, all around the world with different possibilities for their future carrier development.
Conclusion
Everything considered and based on the information researched, I am confident that given that the Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a large global company, with more than 280 years of experience and operations all over the world, is the right choice for an Internship or Graduate programme; having more than 20 graduate programmes there is literally something for everyone within the RBS Group’s business.