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RBS sells 314 bank branches to Corsair consortium | RBS sells 314 bank branches to Corsair consortium |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to sell 314 bank branches for £600m to the Corsair consortium, which includes Church of England investment. | The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to sell 314 bank branches for £600m to the Corsair consortium, which includes Church of England investment. |
They serve some 250,000 small business customers, 1200 medium-size businesses and 1.8 million retail customers. | They serve some 250,000 small business customers, 1200 medium-size businesses and 1.8 million retail customers. |
The deal was forced on RBS by the European Commission as a condition of its 2008 state bailout, which left RBS 81%-owned by the taxpayer. | The deal was forced on RBS by the European Commission as a condition of its 2008 state bailout, which left RBS 81%-owned by the taxpayer. |
It will see the Williams and Glyn's name back on the High Street. | It will see the Williams and Glyn's name back on the High Street. |
The consortium is made up of the Church Commissioners and the financial firms Corsair Capital and Centerbridge Capital. | The consortium is made up of the Church Commissioners and the financial firms Corsair Capital and Centerbridge Capital. |
New banks | |
The business will eventually be sold as a stand-alone public company in 2015 at the earliest. | |
Its partly state-owned rival, Lloyds, was also forced recently to divest itself of a large number of branches, which have been rebranded as TSB, another revived banking name. | |
It will also be sold as a separate business in around a year's time. | |
BBC business editor, Robert Peston, says the formal separation of Williams & Glyn's by RBS is at least a year behind the separation of TSB by Lloyds. | |
He says RBS will not rebrand the 300 plus branches till 2015, which implies the stock market listing can't be till late 2015 or even 2016. | |
RBS had originally agreed to sell the branches to Santander for about £1.65bn, but the deal collapsed last year. | RBS had originally agreed to sell the branches to Santander for about £1.65bn, but the deal collapsed last year. |
Last week, RBS sold its Direct Line insurance business for a similar sum, in another move ordered by the Commission as a condition of its receiving state aid. | Last week, RBS sold its Direct Line insurance business for a similar sum, in another move ordered by the Commission as a condition of its receiving state aid. |