RBS may float part of US retail arm Citizens

25th Feb 2013 11:31

Royal Bank of Scotland may soon announce a plan to float part of its US retail arm in the next two years as a way to raise liquidity and prepare for the possibility of spinning off the entire group. According to Financial Times, the bank will announce a plan to float between 15% and 25% of Citizens at next Thursday's earnings presentation.The IPO (initial public offering) could allow the bank to raise £1.5-2.0bn based on its current book value of around £8.0bn.The plan would adhere to British regulator demands for RBS to restructure faster and refocus on the UK. The UK government owns an 82% stake of the bank, which was bailed out with £45bn of UK taxpayer funds in 2008.SB