RBS to further reduce stake in Citizens Financial
The Royal Bank of Scotland said on Monday that it intended to further reduce its stake in the Citizens Financial Group, the U.S. retail bank it spun off in an initial public offering last year.
In a news release, RBS, which is mostly owned by the British government, said that it planned to sell 115 million shares of the bank, equivalent to a 21 percent stake. It could also sell an overallotment of 17.25 million shares.
If the overallotment is fully exercised, RBS will hold a 46.1 percent stake in the U.S. bank following the sale. RBS currently has a 70.3 percent stake in the bank.
In September, Citizens raised $3 billion in its initial public offering in New York. It was the second-largest IPO in the United States last year, behind the $25 billion debut of the Alibaba Group, the Chinese Internet juggernaut.
RBS, based in Edinburgh, has sold or spun off several businesses in recent years as it substantially reduces its global ambitions and focuses on being a British-focused retail and corporate bank and on repaying a bailout.
RBS received 45 billion pounds ($67 billion) during the financial crisis from the British government, which owns 81 percent of the company.
As part of RBS’ reorganization, the bank intends to sell down its stake in Citizens over time and fully exit by the end of 2016.
The bank also is looking to spin off its Williams & Glyn network of 314 branches in Britain by the end of 2016. European regulators have ordered RBS to dispose of Citizens and of Williams & Glyn as a condition of the bailout.