Santander CEO Expects RBS Branch Sale To Close In Coming Weeks

29th Jul 2010 09:35

MADRID (Dow Jones)--Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) could wrap up the sale of 318 U.K. branches in the coming weeks, Banco Santander SA (STD) Chief Executive Alfredo Saenz said Thursday. Santander was the sole bidder for the branches, estimated to be worth around GBP1.8 billion. A person familiar with the sales process had earlier said the deal could be announced Aug. 6, when RBS reports its second-quarter results. Saenz was speaking at a conference call to present Santander's second quarter results. The 83%-government owned RBS received the largest state aid in the world following its near collapse during the financial crisis in 2008. The European Union has ordered it to cut market share in some segments to make sure the bank isn't at a competitive advantage to peers that stayed independent. -By Christopher Bjork, Dow Jones Newswires, 34 91395 8123; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 29, 2010 04:35 ET (08:35 GMT)