Bank may scrap sale of insurance division
18 August 2008
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) may ditch the sale of its insurance division after raising almost £6 billion through selling loans, according to a report.
Insurance firms Direct Line and Churchill are both included in the sale, which was estimated at £7 billion according to the Sunday Times.
The Sunday Times claimed it was looking increasingly likely that the sale of the insurance arm would be delayed or abandoned completely, though no final decision has yet been made by RBS.
American insurer Allstate put in a bid two weeks ago but it is thought to have been at least £1 billionn short of RBS's original asking price.
RBS Insurance, which according to the Sunday Times has more than 21 million policies, made an operating profit of £403 million during the first half of this year, compared to £258 million in the same period in the previous year.
The division was put up for sale in April.
The Royal Bank of Scotland was established in 1727 and has branches in more than 50 countries around the world, according to its website
