RBS is not a name synonymous with equities, or electronic execution, a realm that has for years been dominated by the likes of UBS, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. But that has not stopped the UK bank from venturing into this highly competitive area.

RBS did not even have an equities business until 2007, when it picked up the legacy ABN Amro franchise through its acquisition of the Dutch bank's wholesale assets.