RBS offloads retail banks across China

Royal Bank of Scotland is handing over its retail and commercial businesses in three Chinese cities to DBS Group, south-east Asia's biggest lender.

Singapore's DBS will get the chance to take on 25,000 RBS customers in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzen, while some of the British bank's employees will also move.

Neither bank disclosed any value of the transaction. An RBS spokeswoman was not immediately able to comment.

RBS, which is still 83% owned by the government, has sold most of its commercial banking units in Asia but still has an investment banking presence in the region. RBS also has banking operations in several other Chinese cities.

Chief executive Stephen Hester embarked on a wide-ranging sale of assets after European regulators last year ordered the bank to sell some of its units as a price for being bailed out.

DBS gets the bulk of its earnings from Singapore and Hong Kong, but aims to expand in China, India and across south-east Asia.

"This landmark agreement enables DBS China to rapidly expand its retail banking customer base, grow its deposit base and correspondingly, accelerate plans to grow its loan portfolio, in a market that is of critical importance to DBS," said Melvin Teo, chief executive of DBS China.