Royal Bank of Scotland will probably hold one or two more sales this year of shares it owns in Citizens Financial Group, the U.S. subsidiary it spun off in September.
"Look for another one or two sales this year from RBS," Citizens Chief Executive officer Bruce Van Saun said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "Their goal that they've set is to deconsolidate us this year, in 2015, which means probably getting below 35 percent" ownership stake.
RBS raised $3.46 billion in Citizens's September initial public offering, one of the largest in the U.S. last year. The IPO allows Edinburgh-based RBS to shed assets and boost capital as it adjusts to stiffer rules and seeks to recoup from a bailout during the financial crisis.
The European Commission has given RBS until Dec. 31, 2016, to sell the rest of its stake in Citizens with a possible 12-month extension depending on market conditions.
