The Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed that it is selling the Jersey and Guernsey operations of its asset financing group, Lombard Finance, to Investec and Shawbrook Bank for £150 million.
The move comes in response to new ringfencing rules set to come into force in 2019, which aim to better protect taxpayers in the event of a financial crash by separating banks’ retail operations from riskier businesses such as investment banking.
Lombard, which set up in Jersey in 1972, has helped businesses finance a range of capital projects involving machinery, vehicles and aircraft. Its Channel Islands operations stopped taking on new business last June as a result of the new rules, and were put up for sale.
As one of the first major banks to sell off large-scale business under the new rules, the move represents a significant downsizing for RBS, which is more than 70 per cent owned by British taxpayers.