RBS finance chief to lead US spin-off

Royal Bank of Scotland's finance chief, Bruce Van Saun, is moving back to the US to help spin off the bank's Citizens business.

The American banker has been chief financial officer since October 2009, when the chief executive, Stephen Hester, convinced him to join in the repair job at the ailing taxpayer-backed bank. Mr Hester said Mr Van Saun, who becomes chairman and chief executive of Citizens, had been an "exceptional CFO". He will be replaced by the chief risk officer, Nathan Bostock, in October. Mr Bostock returned to RBS in 2009 after eight years at Santander, where he was also chief financial officer.

RBS plans a partial flotation of Citizens in two years' time.