Those involved in innovation tend to be enthralled by the new and shiny. Quick, agile institutions are young and spearheaded by founders armed with disruptive business models and even more disruptive technology. However Jamie Broadbent, head of digital, innovation and design at RBS International (RBSI), feels “there is something kind of magical about working for an institution that’s 300 years old … and is still here”.
Based in Jersey in the Channel Islands, RBSI is the offshore commercial banking arm of NatWest Group. The bank is currently reimagining itself as a relationship bank for the digital world. Mr Broadbent says this is not about taking everything the bank offers and making it digital, but more around “understanding how the world is changing, how people’s behaviours are changing and then slotting the bank into that”.