RBS says CFG stake sale will net £100m profit in fourth quarter

30th Oct 2015 12:34

(ShareCast News) - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said it would make a fourth-quarter pre-tax profit of £100m from the sale of its remaining 20.9% stake in Citizen's Financial Group (CFG).RBS said it sold 110m shares at $23.38 each, adding that the net $2.6bn (£1.69bn) raised from the stake sale would be used for general business purposes.It said the sale cut its consolidated risk weighted assets by £67bn to £249bn and increased its common equity Tier 1 ratio to 16.2% from 12.7%."The sale of RBS's entire holding in CFG represents the achievement of a major milestone and the fulfilment of our related state aid commitment more than one year ahead of the deadline," RBS said in a statement.CRBS chief executive Ross McEwan said the sale "is a critical part of our capital plan and further improves our capital ratio"."A strong capital position is the essential platform on which we will continue to build a simpler, stronger and more efficient UK-focused bank that can better serve the needs of its customers."CFG is the 13th largest retail bank holding company in the United States, with $135.4bn in assets at 30 September 2015.