Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland aims to raise up to $4 billion from the share flotation of its U.S. bank Citizens Financial Group. RBS, which is 81% owned by the government after being rescued in 2008, has come under pressure from UK regulators to improve its capital base and focus on its domestic business, and the bank had already made clear it planned to sell up to a quarter of Citizens this year through an initial public offer (IPO). RBS said it would sell 140 million shares in Citizens at between $23 and $25 each in the New York IPO, and could sell a further 21 million shares in an over-allotment option granted to the underwriters of the offer. Up to 29% of the bank will be sold, valuing Citizens at the top end of the price range at $14 billion. RBS did not set a date for the listing, but it is slated for on or around 23 September. Citizens provides retail and commercial banking services to about 5 million customers in the United States and ranks as the country’s 13th biggest retail bank holding with about $130 billion in assets.
