By Ian Walker

LONDON-- Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS. LN) said Thursday it may not be able to sell Williams & Glyn by the Dec. 31, 2017 deadline, and is exploring alternative means to separate and sell it.

The 73% government-owned bank also warned that the financial impact of the sale will now be "significantly" greater than previously expected. It said it had reached this conclusion after undertaking extensive analysis, but didn't provide any further explanation.

The bank announced last December that it was considering selling its Williams & Glyn unit after receiving interest from potential buyers, as it races to meet regulations which require it to shed the business by 2017.

Following its government bailout RBS is required under European Union state aid rules to spin off 314 branches. These have been regrouped under the brand Williams & Glyn and need to be disposed of by the end of 2017.

RBS had planned to launch an initial public offering of the unit, but after receiving "a number of informal approaches for the business," it said in December it would also explore a sale to a competitor in the first half of 2016, which it hopes can be done by the end of 2017.

The bank said it had made significant progress separating the branches, which have 1.8 million customers.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2016 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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