Founder Profile
Royal Bank of Scotland
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Royal Bank of Scotland?
Royal Bank of Scotland is a founder of NatWest Group plc, which was founded in 1727 with National Westminster Bank.
- Company founded
- NatWest Group plc
- Founded
- 1727
- Co-founders
- National Westminster Bank
Background
The bank was formed by investors in the Equivalent Society, which held compensation paid to Scotland after the 1707 Acts of Union.
Founding Story
The Royal Bank of Scotland was chartered in Edinburgh in 1727 as a rival to the Bank of Scotland and in 1728 introduced the cash credit, an early form of overdraft. It grew through acquisitions, bought National Westminster Bank in 2000, and its parent company was renamed NatWest Group in 2020. RBS remains the group's retail brand in Scotland. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).