Les Matheson took over the business on an interim basis in September as Ross McEwan was preparing to take the chief executive’s post at the bank. Mr. Matheson joined the bank in 2010 as managing director of products and marketing.
“Les has done a great job leading the retail bank over recent months, bringing a wealth of banking and customer experience to the role,” Mr. McEwan said in a statement. “I am delighted that the best candidate came from within our bank.”
Bailed out in 2008, R.B.S. is 81 percent owned by the British government.
Mr. McEwan has said he wants to change the culture of R.B.S., which received 45 billion pounds, or about $74 billion, from the British government during the financial crisis five years ago, and repay the government as quickly as possible.
But he has had to deal with a series of setbacks in recent months as he tries to turn the bank around, including a computer malfunction that left customers unable to use their debit and credit cards for a time during the Christmas shopping season and the abrupt departure of the bank’s chief financial officer after only three months on the job.
Last month, R.B.S. said it would set aside nearly £3 billion in the fourth quarter to cover potential litigation claims related to mortgage-backed securities and other products sold before the financial crisis. The bank reports its year-end results on Feb. 27.
In a piece in the The Guardian newspaper on Sunday, Mr. McEwan pledged “to change our behavior at every level.”
Prior to joining R.B.S., Mr. McEwan was a group executive for retail at St. George Bank, a unit of the Australian financial services company Westpac. He worked for 11 years at Citigroup, including serving as chief executive of its Citibank Australia business.
With his new post, Mr. Matheson will serve as a member of the bank’s executive committee.
“I am delighted to be appointed to this role,” Mr. Matheson said. “Every day I am struck by the hard work and enthusiasm of our staff, and their commitment to do the right thing for customers.”