RBS may face legal action over 2008 rights issue

25th Apr 2014 15:37

State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland could face the start of legal action next week by investors claiming it misled them over its rights issue in 2008.RBS may receive lawsuits in a London court on Wednesday from Legal & General (L&G), Standard Life, Prudential, Aviva and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), according to sources cited by news agency Reuters.The claims are expected to involve a demand for compensation of more than £1bn, Reuters said.Former RBS boss Fred Goodwin asked shareholders to provide £12bn in May 2008 to shore up the bank's capital, which dropped after it bought parts of Dutch bank ABN Amro and lost billions in the credit crunch.RBS, which is 81% owned by the British taxpayer following a government bailout in the financial crisis, said in a statement that it would defend itself against the claims."While RBS and its former directors made some business decisions that have been criticised, this does not mean that they misled investors or acted illegally," it said."We believe we have strong defences to the claims that are being brought against the group and that is why we intend to defend these vigorously and to protect the interests of our shareholders including UK taxpayers."Shares in RBS fell 1.3p or 0.4% to 302.5p by 16:22 in London.PW