RBS shake-up could put 18,900 jobs at risk

19th Dec 2011 11:29

Royal Bank of Scotland may undertake a restructuring of its Global Banking and Markets (GBM) division, in an operation which would see the unit´s balance sheet rapidly reduced from 450bn pounds to under 200bn pounds. The possibility also exists that it might offload its brokerage unit Hoare Govett before a complete closure of its equity business. The Telegraph reports that it may hold on to foreign exchange trading and swaps.The newspaper has learned that the bank's board has been discussing different restructuring options and that it is being advised by McKinsey. In fact, the 18,900 employees at GBM have already been warned of the risk of further large-scale layoffs.By 10:55 in London, RBS shares were trading flat at 20.002p.SC