RBS shutting restructuring businesses in Europe

Bloomberg

London

Royal Bank of Scotland Group is closing most of its European debt restructuring business outside the UK as the nation’s largest publicly owned lender winds down its global restructuring group, according to two people familiar with the matter.

RBS began shutting down units in Amsterdam, Madrid, Milan and Paris in September, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is private.

James Abbott, a spokesman for RBS in London, declined to comment on the closures and the number of employees affected.

RBS is disbanding its restructuring operations as it disposes of unwanted assets and focuses on its UK business after receiving the world’s biggest bank bailout during the financial crisis. The global restructuring group came under the scrutiny of UK lawmakers last year after a government- commissioned report accused the bank of deliberately pushing viable companies into bankruptcy to boost profits.

RBS identified small businesses as distressed so it could charge them advisory fees and buy their assets at reduced prices, according to a November 2013 report by Lawrence Tomlinson, a government adviser. Law firm Clifford Chance later found no evidence the companies were “artificially” distressed, according to a separate report commissioned by RBS published in April.

Promontory Financial Group, a consulting firm, and the accountant Mazars have yet to publish their reviews commissioned by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority in January.