The roles relate to its transaction management and operations division. RBS has previously said it would look to cut costs in CIB, ever since Ross McEwan took over as chief executive and set out his strategy in February 2014.

"As part of RBS’s drive to be a stronger, simpler and fairer bank, we have been restructuring our corporate and institutional bank, as well as reducing its size, to focus on our core customers and products,” said a spokesman.

"As this process continues our frontline staff need a simpler, clearer, more efficient relationship with our middle and back office functions to better serve customers, so we’re reshaping our services business accordingly. Unfortunately the changes will result in some job losses.”

The job losses came on the same day as McEwan warned investors at Morgan Stanley’s European financials conference in London that CIB might see “some modest further income erosion” given a slow start in activity seen so far this year.

RBS will create 300 new positions in India, partly to replace the functions in the UK.

(Reporting by Christopher Spink; Editing by Steve Slater)