London  - Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said Monday that it had secured overwhelming backing for its call to provide 12 billion pounds (24 billion dollars) in cash through a rights issue.

The Edinburgh-based banking group said that shareholders representing more than 95 per cent of its stock had taken up the offer to buy discounted shares by Friday's deadline.

The money raised by selling the shares will allow RBS to shore up its finances and cover hefty losses resulting from the credit crunch.

RBS in April became the first British bank to ask shareholders to help boost its balance sheet after carrying out writedowns of over 8 billion pounds related to the bank's exposure to risky US property- related assets. (dpa)