NOV/DEC 2003 Getting it right: the RBoS/NatWest takeover Royal Bank of Scotland took on one of the biggest integration challenges ever when it bought NatWest The complexity of the RBS/NatWest integration programme illustrates the huge challenges major banks face when they merge. When RBS took over NatWest it committed itself to a gigantic programme of integration aimed at delivering the shareholder value promised to justify the deal. It had to integrate hundreds of proprietary systems as well as take control of much larger operations – both in retail and wholesale markets. Although our case st...