Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS), or RBS, intends to sell up to 10% of its investment bank unit, worth as much as GBP30bn (USD45.4bn/EUR34.4bn) through asset sales, as part of its restructuring, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing senior sources.
The move will be made in response to increasing government pressure on RBS to speed up the sale of its investment arm and increase its UK focus.
The lender, which is 82% owned by the state, will unveil the plan together with the release of its full-year results for 2012 on Thursday, when analysts expect it to announce a pretax loss of as much as GBP4bn.
The proceeds from the sale will be transferred to businesses such as UK retail and commercial banking. Along with the stake sale, the lender plans to shrink the size of the investment bank unit’s balance sheet and reduce its headcount.
