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Article: RBS chief hits out at Europe over its long list of sell-offs
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- November 3, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Evening Standard - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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STEPHEN Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, today
attacked the shopping list of sell-offs ordered on it by the
European Union, which will force it to sell 318 branches, its
massive insurance divisions, commodities trading and credit-card
processing. "These disposals do not improve competition or make it
any easier for us to return money to the taxpayer," said Hester. "We
need to return to profitability and financial strength and I don't
believe some of these disposals will help that."
RBS shares fell 1.6p to 37p, meaning the taxpayer is already
nursing a loss of Pounds 5.4 billion. But Hester said today's
agreement with the EU and the injection of up to another Pounds 33.5 ...