The Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) troubled Ulster Bank unit plans to sell its loss-making portfolio of Irish real estate loans at a 78% discount, to a subsidiary of Cairn Homes and an affiliate of Lone Star Funds; the deal is expected to complete before the end of 2015, and will see Ulster Bank receive around £245m in cash at current exchange rates. This is in line with RBS's plans to boost cash in order to shore up its balance sheet, as well as to move towards a less risky business model by scaling back its investment banking operations and focusing on UK retail and commercial banking.
The Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) troubled Ulster Bank unit plans to sell its loss-making portfolio of Irish real estate loans at a 78% discount, to a subsidiary of Cairn Homes and an affiliate of Lone Star Funds; the deal is expected to complete before the end of 2015, and will see Ulster Bank receive about £360m in cash at current exchange rates. This is in line with RBS's plans to boost cash in order to shore up its balance sheet, as well as to move towards a less risky business model by scaling back its investment banking operations and focusing on UK retail and commercial banking.