RBS Advanta moves into loans market

RBS Advanta, the joint venture between the Royal Bank of Scotland and US finance giant Advanta, is extending its credit card brand into the personal loans market.

The launch is the first extension of the RBS Advanta brand since the introduction of its credit card in 1996, and is likely to be followed by other financial services such as investment products.

RBS Advanta was one of the first credit cards in the UK to offer reduced interest rates and no annual fee. It has more than 1 million cardholders.

RBS Advanta marketing director Tim Lewis says: “Our expansion into personal loans is testament to RBS Advanta’s success over the past four years – a success we are now looking to build on in other product areas.”

The company, which will offer loans of up to &£25,000, plans to promote the new service predominantly through below-the-line marketing.

Like most credit card companies, RBS Advanta is a big user of direct marketing, and last year spent &£9.2m on advertising, according to MMS figures. Strategy, planning and database marketing is handled by Tequila.