RBS Said to Unveil Plans to Sell or Close Equities Business

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS),
Britain’s biggest government-owned bank, will this week announce
plans to sell or close its global cash equities business, a
person with knowledge of the matter said.

The proposal will be unveiled by Chief Executive Officer
Stephen Hester and John Hourican, head of the global banking and
markets division, according to the person, who asked not be
identified before the announcement.

The cash equities division, which employs about 1,200
people and includes the research division, will be shut down if
a buyer can’t be found, the person said. RBS has hired Lazard
Ltd. (LAZ) to advise it on the sale of parts of the equities unit,
including stockbroker Hoare Govett, another person with
knowledge of the matter said last week.

Hester has said the investment bank is unsustainable at its
current size and the Edinburgh-based bank has shrunk its balance
sheet by almost 1 trillion pounds ($1.5 trillion) since he took
over from Fred Goodwin in 2008. RBS has cut more than 30,000
jobs since receiving the world’s biggest banking bailout.

Yuk Min Hui, a spokeswoman for RBS in Hong Kong, declined
to comment on the plans for the unit. The Times of London
reported Jan. 7 that RBS would close the division, citing
unidentified people.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Angus Whitley in Sydney at
awhitley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Philip Lagerkranser at
lagerkranser@bloomberg.net

• Tweet

• More

• Print
• Email

<!—->