RBS splurged £200 million on celebrity endorsements

16 February 2009

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) spent £200 million on multi-year contracts and sponsorship deals with top sports celebrities just weeks before it was bailed out by the British government bailout.

Just weeks before being ousted from RBS on 13 October, the Scottish banker Sir Fred Goodwin, the bank's former chief executive, had signed a five-year contract with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as part of a rebranding strategy.

Also signed up as 'global ambassadors' were, rider Zara Phillips, who is also the granddaughter of the Queen, golfer Jack Nicklaus, former motor racing champion Sir Jackie Stewart and also sponsors British tennis player Andy Murray.

The bank has also spent millions, sponsoring huge sporting events like the US and British Opens in golf, the Six Nations rugby, the cricket Nat-West series and Formula One racing championship.

Sir Jackie Stewart is reported to have signed a contract with RBS worth £4 million and it is reported that his contract is still valid and has two more years to go and he is confident that the bank will honour the contract for the full duration.

Stewart also brokered a deal with RBS and Peter Phillips, Zara's brother, who was hired by the bank to oversee its £20 million sponsorship of the Williams F1 racing team.