By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
George Osborne is putting pressure on Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to accelerate its exit from the US retail banking market, Sky News understands.
People familiar with discussions between the RBS board and the Chancellor say he has urged the bank in recent weeks to accelerate a stock market flotation of Citizens, one of the largest retail banks in the US, which has been pencilled in for 2015.
John Kingman, a senior Treasury official, wrote to Sir Philip Hampton, the RBS chairman, in the last few days to spell out the department's views about the bank's strategy, insiders said.
As well as an accelerated flotation of Citizens, these include analysis of a potential split of RBS into separate good and banks, with Ulster Bank, its troubled Irish subsidary, being examined to see whether its can be carved out of RBS.
Mr Osborne is expected to refer to RBS's previously-announced plans to offload Citizens and the structural review of the group, including the assets held in Ulster Bank, in his Mansion House speech tonight, although he is unlikely to say publicly that he wants the Citizens sale to be sped up.
The Chancellor will point out that the bank has already been radically reshaped, but that further work is necessary in order to prepare it for eventual privatisation of the stake that cost taxpayers £45.5bn in 2008.
He will also reiterate his view that RBS should become a UK-focused retail and commercial bank.
Aides said that Mr Osborne's speech was still being finalised and that the directness of the language relating to RBS "could be toned down" between Wednesday morning and the speech.
RBS announced a decision in February to begin selling Citizens in 2015, saying:
"The Board has decided it is now the right time to begin work on a partial flotation of Citizens, our US banking business, targeted probably at around 2 years from now. Citizens is a good business, serving around 5m customers in the north east of the United States where it is has a strong market position. It has been substantially improved since 2009 and a local public listing will help to highlight its growing value. This provides a positive opportunity for Citizens and its 14,700 employees, as well as being a sensible move for RBS as a whole."
Mr Osborne's Mansion House speech will come a week after Stephen Hester, RBS chief executive, said he would step down later this year, with a search now underway for his successor.
The chief executive was effectively forced out by the Chancellor after it was made clear that the Government wanted a replacement to oversee the eventual sale of its 82% stake in the bank.
Mr Osborne is understood to have become frustrated with Mr Hester's resistance to Treasury interference in the bank's strategy, such as repeated demands to shrink its investment banking operations.
Sources say the review of the 'good bank, bad bank' structure, including the Ulster Bank operations, will be undertaken by the Treasury with the assistance of external advisers from an unnamed investment bank.
Mr Osborne will be more positive about the state's involvement in Lloyds Banking Group, saying that the time is approaching when a sale of the Government's 40% stake would be possible.
He will, however, emphasize that value for money will be the principal consideration ahead of any share sale.
RBS and the Treasury declined to comment.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Chancellor Orders RBS To Accelerate US Sale
Dengan url
http://temannyakawanya.blogspot.com/2013/06/chancellor-orders-rbs-to-accelerate-us.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Chancellor Orders RBS To Accelerate US Sale
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Chancellor Orders RBS To Accelerate US Sale
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar