Santander set to complete sales negotiations with RBS
Spanish bank set to buy 318 RBS branches
03 August 2010
Santander is set to complete sales negotiations with Royal Bank
of Scotland (RBS), it has been revealed.
The Spanish bank will purchase 318 RBS braches in a deal which
will give Santander a total of 1,643 UK outlets.
In addition to the branches, which are currently running under
the Williams & Glyn's brand, Santander will also receive 6,000
staff as part of the deal.
The exact size of the bid is unlikely to be known until next
year, although RBS is expected to receive a premium on the net
value of the stores, which are valued at around £2 billion.
.
European Union regulators forced RBS to sell the branches in return
for the state aid that the Scottish bank received during the
financial crisis.
Lloyds, who also received a government bail-out package, must
sell off 600 branches over the next four years as part of its
agreement with the state.
The deal is expected to be completed by Wednesday (August
3rd).