Chile Scotiabank Awaiting Regulator's Approval For RBS Asset Buy - Report

13th Jul 2010 14:21

SANTIAGO (Dow Jones)--Scotiabank Sud Americano (SUD-AMER.SN) is waiting for approval from the U.K. banks regulator to purchase Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's (RBS, RBS.LN) investment banking business in Chile, daily newspaper Diario Financiero reported Tuesday. Scotiabank Sud Americano, the Chilean unit of Canadian-based Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS, BNS.T), has a 5.9% share of the lending market in Chile and has said previously it's interested in increasing its participation in that market to 10%. Royal Bank of Scotland, or RBS', Chilean investment bank has roughly a 0.2% share of the Andean nation's lending market. Meanwhile, the SBIF Chilean banking regulator will approve the purchase if Scotiabank acquires at least two-thirds of the asset's shares, Diario Financiero said. RBS, the 83%-government owned U.K. bank, is selling its Chilean assets as part of its plans to speed up noncore divestments this year. All the operations RBS is selling or has recently sold, including its Indian retail and commercial business, as well as retail operations in Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, were inherited from the acquisition of a portion of Dutch bank ABN Amro Holding NV in late 2007. RBS dubbed those assets as noncore after the financial crisis hit. Scotiabank bought Chile's Banco de Desarollo for around $1 billion in late 2007. -By Anthony Esposito, Dow Jones Newswires; 56-2-715-8929; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 09:21 ET (13:21 GMT)