RBS: Citizens Bank Won’t Be Sold

Citizens Bank will not be sold off, as European regulators spared the company from a possible forced sale tied to the breakup of the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS).

European regulators considered how to break up RBS into smaller pieces. The breakup is part of a $40 billion bailout plan, the second for RBS following last year’s financial panic. The chairman and chief executive of Citizens Financial Group Ellen Alemany said on Tuesday, “Today’s announcement once again affirms that Citizens is a valued part of the RBS Group.”

The company can trace its roots to 1871 and became part of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1988. Citizens Financial Group has a $153 billion in assets and, through various subsidiaries, run’s 1,480 branches in 12 states.

RBS had been ordered by British government officials to sell the Providence-based Citizens. But the government rescinded the ordered sale after RBS officials balked, according to news accounts. However, RBS will be forced to sell more than 300 branches in the United Kingdom, including NatWest offices in Scotland within four years.

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