It only seems like some banks print their own money — Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) really does. In fact, it has been producing its own banknotes for nearly three centuries. Operating as Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, the company has approximately 2,250 locations that offer such services as deposit accounts, credit cards, and mortgages to retail clients in the UK. Its Ulster Bank unit operates mainly in Ireland and Northern Ireland. RBS also provides corporate banking services, sells insurance, and offers private banking through The Coutts Group and Adam & Company. In the US it owns Citizens Financial and transaction processor RBS Lynk. The company is leading a consortium that is buying ABN AMRO.

Criticism

Environmental Concerns

• Major Banks Criticized for Supporting Caspian Pipeline: “Environment and human rights groups, working together under the newly established BankTrack umbrella [1], today expressed strong dissatisfaction with the decision of nine major banks to support the controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, in spite of their commitment to the Equator Principles. Their reaction came with the signing of the pipeline financial package today in Baku.”

Business Ethics

• UK: Watchdog inquiry threat over rolling stock: “The companies supplying the trains and carriages that run on Britain’s railways are facing the threat of a competition inquiry today amid allegations they are ripping off passengers by charging the rail-operating firms too much.”