Bó boss bounced: RBS reorg to see Mark Bailie out just months after launch

Just months after RBS launched its digital upstart bank Bó in November of 2019, the boss of this new initiative is reportedly set to leave the bank next month.

According to Sky News, newly appointed RBS CEO Alison Rose is due to make a number of top executive changes on or around the bank’s results announcement on 14 February, including the departure of Bó CEO Mark Bailie.

The news is a potential blow for Bó, coming just three months after its launch and in their losing a key supporter of the project in Bailie who backed the initiative in his previous role as Chief Operating Officer of RBS.

Bó’s pitch to consumers is that features like instant spend alerts, budgeting tools and 'Piggy Bank' savings pots will help them save money.

Bó is one of two digital challenger brands launched by RBS in the last 12 months, along with business-focused bank Mettle, led by Marieke Flament.

Last year Bailie said he was hoping to attract “a few million” current accounts to Bó—a project RBS has spent more than £100m on and employed around 170 staff—over the next four to five years.

Now questions will be asked around the future of the project, especially if no succession plans for Bailie are announced in the coming weeks.