RBS chief executive resigns

Ross has a 12 month notice period and the Bank confirmed that he will remain in his position until a successor has been appointed.

Ross said: "After over five and a half very rewarding years, and with the bank in a much stronger financial position it is time for me to step down as CEO.

"It is never easy to leave somewhere like RBS. However with much of the restructuring done and the bank on a strong and profitable footing, I have delivered the strategy that I set out in 2013 and now feels like the right time for me to step aside and for a new CEO to lead the bank."

In 2013, the Bank's Global Restructuring Group for troubled businesses came under fire over allegations that it mistreated firms to profit from their financial hardship.

An FCA review found that many aspects of GRG’s culture, governance and practices were deficient and that in some areas the inappropriate treatment of customers was widespread and systematic.

In September 2018, The Treasury Committee accused McEwan of withholding information relating to allegations of criminal activity within the bank.

When asked whether there had been any criminal activity, McEwan said: "Not that we have seen or had reported, and certainly none that the police or the Serious Fraud Office are looking at, to our knowledge."

However a Times article stated that RBS had alerted Police Scotland to the criminal allegations eight months previously, and that RBS did not dispute that McEwan was aware of the allegations during the evidence session.

Nicky Morgan, chair of the Treasury Committee, said: "When asked in January if he was aware of any criminal activity at GRG, Mr McEwan withheld information of relevance and interest to the Committee.

"More generally, the Committee is concerned by the pattern of defensiveness, and a failure to acknowledge mistakes, demonstrated by RBS throughout its handling of the GRG affair. Mr McEwan’s letter to me is an example of this, and it casts doubt on his assurances that RBS’ culture has changed fundamentally since he took up his position five years ago."