LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Branches earmarked for sale under Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's (RBS) restructuring plan have about 5% market share in business banking and a 2% share of the retail market, Chief Executive Stephen Hester said Tuesday.
He said on a conference call that the planned disposals, which includes the bank's branches operating under the RBS name in England and Wales, its NatWest branches in Scotland, and some other business-focused outlets, cover about 2 million customers.
The bank's finance director went on to say the branches have about GBP20 billion in assets.
The disposals are being bunched under the Williams & Glynn name, a now-defunct RBS brand that could be revived, depending on the wishes of a potential buyer.
RBS has up to four years to sell the branches under an agreement in principle with the European Union on the state aid it has received from the U.K. government.
Company Web site: www.rbs.com
-By Margot Patrick, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9451; margot.patrick@dowjones.com