Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC reportedly is under pressure to sell off its RBS Citizens Financial Group Inc. subsidiary in the United States.
RBS is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and has its U.S. headquarters in Stamford. RBS Citizens is based in Providence, R.I.
According to the Wall Street Journal, as RBS controlling stakeholder the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority wants the bank to divest RBS Citizens to refocus the company on the British market. The newspaper reported that RBS has received informal offers in the past for RBS Citizens, but that CEO Stephen Hester has been against selling it.
Toronto-based TD Bank Group, which has a major branch presence in Fairfield County, would represent the most likely buyer, according to an analyst cited by the Wall Street Journal.
“This could fit hand-in-glove for TD,” said Gerard Cassidy, a banking analyst at RBC Capital Markets in Portland, Maine, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
RBS Citizens dates back to 1828 when it was launched in Providence as High Street Bank.
