KARACHI,: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has formally re-branded ABN AMRO Bank branches in Pakistan. Pakistan is among the first Asian markets to be re-branded to RBS.

Effective August 1, as approved by the State Bank of Pakistan, ABN AMRO Bank (Pakistan) Limited is now officially renamed as The Royal Bank of Scotland L imited.

This follows the successful global acquisition of ABN AMRO in October 2007 by the RBS-led consortium.

“Today marks an important milestone for the integration of RBS and ABN AMRO’s businesses and we are thrilled that Pakistan is one of the very first countries to reach this milestone in Asia Pacific,” said John McCormick, Chief Executive, Global Banking & Markets for Asia Pacific, RBS.

RBS will launch two new retail banking products - Royal Preferred Banking (previously known as Van Gogh Preferred Banking), and RBS Islamic Banking (previously known as ABN AMRO Islamic Banking) in Pakistan, making it the first Asian market to be introduced with these products.

Shehzad Naqvi, RBS’s Chief Executive Officer in Pakistan, added, “We are very excited and proud to be part of the RBS Group. RBS has entered Pakistan with a head start as one of the largest foreign banks in Pakistan enjoying sixty years of heritage and total assets of Rs117 billion across a network base of 79 branches spanning 24 cities.”