Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Royal Bank of Scotland
During my appearance before your Committee on
1 February, I undertook to write to you on the strategic independence
of our free to use estate and that of Hanco, and to let you have
information on the facilities we make available in Speke, Merseyside.
The strategic distribution teams for Hanco and
for RBS free to use ATM estate report into separate departments
within the Group's Retail Banking Division and, on a day to day
basis, operate independently. We chose to maintain the two departments
as separate entities within the Retail Division as the two operating
models are different from each other, requiring different business
approaches that provide complementary offerings for our customers.
On those few occasions where a site falls into
a competitive tender between the two teams, this independent structure
ensures both internal and external competition. This approach
is not uncommon across The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. To have
independent units maintaining responsibility for similar aspects
of business drives innovation and standards, as, for example,
in the competition for loan and insurance business between Lombard,
Direct Line and our branch networks. A more general example is
the way in which our Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest brands
compete on the high street.
On the second point, I attach a map of Speke
(not printed). The map shows the locations of all LiNK Automatic
Telling Machines (ATMs) and Convenience Cash Dispensers (CCDs)
relative to our NatWest branch and the Post Office. NatWest is
the only bank with a branch in Speke.
The map highlights the path one would take from
the Post Office/Citizens Advice Bureau to the NatWest branch.
The distance is 0.82 of a mile, which is consistent with the UK
wide data confirming that 84% of all CCDs are within a one mile
radius of a free to use ATM. The NatWest branch has a free to
use ATM, which handles on average 8,000 withdrawals per month.
The Hanco machine, situated within the Post Office, handles on
average 350 withdrawals per month. It is worth noting that free
cash withdrawals are also available to our basic bank account
holders in Speke at the Post Office.
23 February 2005
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