The Royal Bank of Scotland fired 220 advisors and instead will use robots
to answer customer’s investment questions. To talk to a real person you need
£250,000. That’s about $362,000. RBS says this is what customers want.
RBS Fires 220 Advisors
Please consider RBS Cuts Hundreds of Jobs as FCA Approves ‘Robo-Advisers’.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced that it will be switching
customer advice services over to automated ‘robo-advisers’ as it cuts 220
face-to-face positions.
The new online service will allow customers to log onto internet banking
and receive free, tailored financial advice after answering a number of
questions – expected to include ‘What are you saving for?’, ‘How much have
you got to invest?’, and ‘How long do you want to invest your money for?’
Following the FCA’s recommendations, it is expected that other UK banks
will soon introduce similar ‘robo’ services.
Other RBS Cuts
In addition to the 220 unneeded advisors, RBS is also eliminated 200
protection advice jobs.
‘Our customers increasingly want to bank with us using digital technology.
As a result, we are scaling back our face-to-face advisers and significantly
investing in an online investing platform that enables us to help a new group
of customers with as little as £500 to invest,’ RBS said in an official statement.
Those customers qualifying for personalised advice will now need to have
at least £250,000 to invest.
Here’s what’s really going on: RBS, which is 73 per cent owned by
government, posted its eighth successive net annual loss, dealing a blow to
government plans to sell off the bank.
The customer survey was specifically worded to produce the required
result: Fire analysts, hire robots.
Look on the bright side. Robo-advisors that spew generic platitudes while
essentially saying nothing, will likely provide advice at least as good as
RBS’s real advisors.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
