RBS Business Loans Review: How do they compare?

Introduction

Did you know that the Royal Bank of Scotland was first founded in Edinburgh in 1727 and quickly became one of the biggest banks in Scotland?

Or that in 2008, by assets, RBS was the biggest bank in the world?

In this guide, you’ll find out everything you need to know about RBS business loans, including who RBS is, the loans they offer and how you can apply.

What’s in this review?

Let’s take a closer look and find out more.

Who is RBS?

RBS has roots that go all the way back to the 1700’s, but since then they have bought many different brands and smaller banks, including household names such as NatWest.

They had revenue of £13.13 billion in 2017, have around 77,900 employees, and their total assets are worth a massive ‎£738.056 billion.

Although they haven’t got the most positive customer reputation on trusted websites such as Trustpilot, most of the largest banks are often viewed more harshly than their independent competitors.

These are the types of loans RBS has on offer:

✔ Small business loans
✔ Variable rate loans
✔ Fixed rate loans
✔ Commercial mortgages

Small Business Loan

For small business loans, RBS offers you between £1,000 and £50,000 in funds, which you can apply for in under ten minutes, and you can borrow from one to ten years.

There is a fixed rate of interest for the duration of your loan, so you always know what you’ll be paying.

And, there are no early repayment charges so you can pay off your loan earlier without needing to pay the penalty.

To borrow a small business loan, you’ll need a personal, director or member’s guarantee, which is the only form of guarantee they will require.

This is what you will need:

• Details that are counted as ‘personal’ of all of the partners, directors, members of your business.
• You’ll also need your business details.
• Also, details of any countries you or your business is registered for tax purposes.
• Details of your business’ annual accounts.

Plus, you don’t need to be an RBS customer to get a loan; you’ll need to answer a few more questions first.

Variable Rate Loan

A variable rate loan means that your rate may vary, but RBS say that your benefits don’t.

You could borrow over £35,001 with no maximum upper limit, for a term of between three months to 25 years with no early repayment penalty and you could take a repayment holiday.

This is when you take a holiday from paying back your loan for a set amount of time, which means you do incur interest, but you don’t need to make payments.

✔ Variable means that your prices can increase or decrease

✔ No early repayment charges

✔ There is a range of options regarding repayments

✔ Take a repayment holiday at the start or mid-term

Fixed Rate Loan

The RBS fixed rate loan was created for businesses that have a turnover of up to £2 million, which features no arrangement fees, or a penalty for early redemption.

These fixed monthly repayments help with your budgeting, as you can depend on the amount that you need to pay back every month.

You can borrow over £35,001 up to £500,000 over a term of 3, 5, 7 and ten years, with a maximum of 25 years.

✔ No fee for the arrangement

✔ No charge for early redemption

✔ Fixed monthly repayments

Commercial Mortgage

With commercial mortgages, you can borrow from £35,001 upwards with no limit. Which can be ideal for businesses that want to expand.

You can get mortgage terms of up to 25 years. With fixed or variable rates available and you can even take a repayment holiday.

Experts are on hand to help you with anything, including moving from large premises and buying your first business property.

How to Apply

So, how do you apply for a loan?

You can give the business team a call, with lines which are open 9.00am-5.30pm Monday to Friday.

Typically, this is what you’ll need to apply for a business loan:

Business details

• When your business started, and three years of history
• Your company and what it does
• Predicted turnover and details of losses or profits
• Mortgage balance and property value

Personal details (for anybody named in the application)

• You need your full name, your date of birth and finally, note your nationality
• History of the last three years of your addresses
• Which personal bank you are with and any credit cards

RBS Reviews

According to the reviews on Trustpilot, RBS has a negative online reputation by them only having 7% of their 150+ reviews being five-stars, and a huge 90% are only in the poor one-star category.

Although online reviews aren’t always reliable, you should consider them when thinking about taking out a business loan.

Positive RBS Review

Lewis Frank Hepburn on Trustpilot: I talked to a customer service representative of RBS called Mark on the 26th December. He was polite and helped me do What I needed to do as quickly as possible.

Negative RBS Review

Sarah Harrison on Trustpilot: We’ve been customers with RBS for about five years now… The customer service is terrible, being left on hold for the best part of an hour before being bounced around departments that don’t have a clue what they’re doing.

Customer Service

RBS has multiple ways that customers can get the answers they need to successfully manage their finances.

Firstly, you could opt into using their help centre, which you can use to search their database of questions to help you understand joining the bank, sorting out any paperwork or help with things such as banking security.

Or, you could make the most out of the different phone lines they have available 24 hours a day.

For instance, when it comes to common banking questions, you can call 0345 600 2230 which can also help with online banking too.

If you are a business customer, you can call Bankline on 0345 300 4108 – but you need to remember that you will have to pay for the service.

Bankline is available from 8 am to 6 pm, from Monday to Friday.

Andy Phillips on Trustpilot: The staff could not be more courteous, helpful and informed; brilliant service – well done and thank you.

Sarah Harrison on Trustpilot: The customer service is terrible, being left on hold for the best part of an hour before being bounced around departments that don’t have a clue what they’re doing.

Company Comparison

Conclusion

This review should have told you everything you need to know about RBS, but if you have any other questions, you could take a look at some of the other reviews available here.

Did you know that you can see all of your available loans in minutes with the ExpertSure comparison tool?

Take a look at the guides to find out more about your finances, or fill out the form at the top of the page.