Sarah Deaves, the chief executive of Coutts & Co, the UK private bank and its sister Scottish firm, Adam & Co, is leaving the post to become managing director of the Affluent Banking segment of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Ms Deaves, chief executive, Wealth UK in the RBS group, will in her new role at RBS report to Paul Geddes, CEO, UK Retail.

RBS, the UK-listed bank, is the parent of Coutts & Co and Adam & Co.

“She will be responsible for developing and leading RBS’s proposition for its top 600,000 clients as well as responsibility for the investment needs of the bank’s 15 million retail customers,” Coutts said in a statement.

John Baines, chief executive, RBS Wealth Management said: “Sarah has successfully led Coutts through a sustained period of strong growth and has been a great ambassador for the business. I have valued her drive, enthusiasm and commitment and we are sorry to see her move on.”

This appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

An announcement on who will replace Sarah Deaves will be made in due course, Coutts said.

She was appointed to her present role in June last year, becoming the first female chief executive of Coutts & Co. Ms Deaves joined Coutts in January 2002, initially as chief operating officer, becoming chief executive in November, 2002.

Prior to joining Coutts, she was managing director, Own Brand Businesses, RBSG, with responsibility for Lombard Direct and DirectLine Financial Services.