RBS put on sale yet again

Soneri Bank enters race to buy RBS Pakistan

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Pakistan has been again put on sale, RBS Group announced on Thursday. RBS Group has re-invited the bids for the potential sale of its 99.37 percent ownership interest in RBS Pakistan”, a notice sent to Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) stated. RBS announced that its is in the process of identifying potential bidders for the proposed sale and declared that subject to obtaining requisite regulatory approvals, such potential bidders may be invited to and may conduct due diligence on RBS Pakistan. The deal between MCB Pakistan and RBS in this regard lapsed some days back due to delay in regulatory subjects.

Pakistan's Soneri Bank says eyes RBS Pakistan

Pakistan's Soneri Bank (SBL) (SONA.KA: said on Monday it is interested in buying the local operations of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Pakistan's MCB Bank (MCB) had agreed last August to buy virtually all of RBS Pakistan shares for about $87 million, but the deal collapsed last month after MCB failed to get regulatory approval.

Soneri has a market value of around $72 million and, according to its website, operates 154 branches nationwide.

Last week, Egypt's No.1 bank EFG-Hermes expressed interest in buying RBS Pakistan, and Pakistan's Faysal Bank last month also expressed interest.

The planned Pakistan sale of RBS is part of moves by part-nationalised RBS to sell assets globally as it tries to exit some three dozen countries and focus on its mainly British core businesses.