RBS CEO: Bank has under-invested in systems for decades

Reuters
A woman shelters under an umbrella as she walks past a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the City of London August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland's new boss admitted the state-backed bank had under-invested in its systems for decades and apologized for an "unacceptable" technology crash that affected more than 1 million customers on Monday. "For decades, RBS failed to invest properly in its systems," said Ross McEwan, who became chief executive in October. "I will be outlining plans in the New Year for making RBS the bank that our customers and the UK need it to be. This will include an outline of where we intend to invest for the future." RBS's systems crashed for three hours on Monday night, leaving cash machines not working and customers unable to pay for goods online or at stores. The bank said on Tuesday the problem had been fixed. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Anjuli Davies)