(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc will write down the value of its U.S. unit, Citizens Financial Group, by about 4 billion pounds ($6.2 billion) next week, a person familiar with the matter said.
RBS is taking the charge a year earlier than analysts expected and the decision will reduce the banks annual profit, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is public. The goodwill writedown, to be taken on Feb. 26 when the bank reports full-year earnings, is an accounting matter and wont affect capital, the person said.
RBS raised $3.46 billion in Citizenss September initial public offering, the largest ever for a bank in the U.S., selling about 25% of the consumer and business lender. It plans to sell the rest of its stake this year, Citizens Chief Executive Officer Bruce Van Saun said Jan. 30. Disposing of the business will boost RBSs capital and aid the U.K. governments plan to reduce its 80%t holding.
RBS, Britains largest government-owned lender, valued Citizens at 11.6 billion pounds with 4.3 billion pounds of goodwill, according to RBSs Pillar 3 report for 2013.
A spokeswoman for RBS declined to comment on the goodwill writedown. Lauren DiGeronimo, a spokeswoman for Citizens Financial, did not immediately respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment. Reuters reported the writedown Friday.
