Royal Bank of Scotland to name Howard Davies as chairman

Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK’s largest state-owned bank, is set to name Howard Davies as chairman, according to sources.

Mr Davies, 64, a former chairman of the now defunct UK Financial Services Authority, may be named as Philip Hampton’s replacement as early as this week, according to sources.

A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh-based bank declined to comment. RBS, 80 per cent-owned by taxpayers after taking a £45.5 billion-pound bailout during the financial crisis, is shrinking under chief executive officer Ross McEwan to focus on consumer banking and get the lender to full private ownership. RBS is the owner of Ulster Bank.

Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has said he will consider the sale of RBS after the general election in May.

Mr Davies is chairman of insurer Phoenix Group Holdings and an independent director at Morgan Stanley and Prudential.

He is also a professor at the French School of Political Science and a former director of the London School of Economics.

Mr Hampton, 61, will replace Christopher Gent as chairman of GlaxoSmithKline Plc on September 1st or earlier if released from other commitments, the UK ’s biggest drugmaker said.

- Bloomberg