RBS must finalise branch sale deal soon, says W&G

RBS must finalise branch sale deal soon, says W&GW&G Investments, which is an investment vehicle of former Tesco finance director Andy Higginsonand backed by Schroders, Threadneedle and Old Mutual, has asked the Royal Bank of Scotland to finalise a deal on sale of branches soon.

RBS was ordered to sell the UK branches but a deal with Spain's Santander fell apart in October 2012. This allowed new buyers to express interest. W&G Investments is aiming to acquire 315 branches from Royal Bank of Scotland and it will receive £55m in annual interest payments from the state-controlled lender ahead of the completion of the deal.

The payment would be made by the RBS from the time it has agreed to sell the branched to the investment firm till the time the deal is closed. Some say that the two sides might take about two years to finalise the transfer of branches to the company.

If the deal takes longer to finalise, the lender will have to pay even more amount to the company in interest payments. W&G pushed the details of its agreement with the RBS on the matter. However, there are still several risk factors that may affect the deal including eater scrutiny of bank bosses by financial regulators and the nature of the deal.