A new chapter at NatWest Group

Last month my appointment as NatWest Group’s new CMO was announced and I could not be more excited to get going in September.

If you had told me at the beginning of the year that I would join a new company after zero physical interaction with its team and furthermore would be unlikely to meet them for months after starting the job, I’d probably have laughed. But lockdown and the ongoing pandemic rightly placed huge limitations on the process of recruitment and joining a new company. Yet despite the challenges this presents, I already feel that deep-down, I know NatWest and have a real sense of the culture.

This feeling of affinity dates to my student days. Like so many others, I signed up for my first bank account with NatWest and with the support of the bank I got through University, secured my first job and took out a loan to purchase my first car – an Austin Mini Metro (tin can on wheels!). This early encounter with the world of finance was made easy, thanks to the trust I had developed with NatWest. 

As a historically responsible, engaged and trusted bank, NatWest Group is part of the fabric of our nation and remains uniquely placed to help customers come out the other side of the financial challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We are at a point in time where banks need to go beyond paying lip-service to putting customers first; it is now a necessity as people’s livelihoods come under threat. Customers will need the support of their bank more than ever and I’m looking forward to working with the team to understand how we can best help our customers and champion their potential.

So much has been done already. I’ve been amazed by the speed at which NatWest Group has adapted to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic, moving call centres into living rooms, transforming part of the head office in Edinburgh into a foodbank and swiftly upskilling staff to meet the needs of vulnerable customers.

NatWest Group has delivered unprecedented levels of support to its customers providing over ￡10billion of lending through the government schemes to over 200,000 businesses. They also contacted over 330,000 elderly customers to check on their welfare and delivered ￡2million to vulnerable customers who couldn’t access ATMs.

This unprecedented focus on delivering stability at a time when businesses and people need it most is so important. 240,000 customers have had mortgage repayment holidays, giving people breathing space as they consider their financial circumstances moving forward. 

Nobody knows what the future might hold over the coming months and supporting personal and business customers remains the bank’s main focus – but also provides an important opportunity to demonstrate what NatWest is all about: a bank that wants to champion the potential of people, families and businesses.

I’ve been really impressed how the new leadership has looked to redefine NatWest Group as a purpose-led bank. This has been exemplified by the personal leadership shown by CEO Alison Rose on issues such as female entrepreneurship, where her collaboration with government and the rest of the industry through The Rose Review has shone a light on the disparity between male and female entrepreneurs when starting and scaling businesses, as well as the broader barriers facing women. I look forward to bolstering these campaigns alongside our CEO, just one of the six female chief executives in the FTSE 100. 

As well as supporting and driving enterprise, NatWest Group is focusing on improving financial literacy and combatting climate change, committing to reaching 2.5 million people each year through financial capability interactions and to making its own operations net carbon zero by 2020. As we look to rebuild better, the bank’s purpose-led agenda remains unchanged. If anything, it has strengthened NatWest’s resolve.

The recent change in name to NatWest Group marks a huge opportunity to refocus attention on what really matters: building a greener, fairer and more inclusive economy.

There are many companies that fail to practise what they preach about customer centricity and putting people at the heart of their work. I finally feel that I’ve landed on an opportunity where I can work with a purpose-led organisation to make a real difference to people and their communities.