Whoever ends up replacing Stephen Hester at the helm of the Royal Bank of Scotland will have a pretty good idea of who they have beaten to the top job.
The internal favourite Ross McEwan – bought out of Australia Commonwealth Bank with £3m of shares last year – is up against internal rivals such as Chris Sullivan and Bruce van Saun. External names are also emerging – Mark McCombe, a former HSBC banker now running the Asian operations of fund manager BlackRock, as well as former Barclays banker David Roberts.
Expect an announcement around August 2 when the bailed-out bank's interim results are scheduled. Then wait for the fallout.
