In the wake of one of the largest bailouts in British history, the Royal Bank of Scotland has decided to withdraw some of its business from the Middle East. RBS will be selling or closing its corporate debt and debt capital markets business as part of its latest efforts to shrink its global footprint, withdraw from emerging markets, and focus on its domestic business model.
The British government owns 81 percent of the lender. Media reports a month ago stated that most of the bank’s Asian corporate banking business was for sale. That news came on the heels of November’s revelation that the bank was examining its options for its holdings in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“Part of the strategy set out by [chief executive] Ross McEwan in February 2014 was to make RBS a smaller, more focused bank. As part of that strategy, we have taken the decision to exit our corporate debt and debt capital markets business in the Middle East and Africa,” RBS said stated.
RBS has offices in Qatar and the UAE where they offer their corporate and institutional clients financing, risk management and other transactions.