Clydesdale launches bid for Williams & Glyn

RBS has been tasked with separating from Williams and Glyn by 2017 as part of the conditions of its £45 billion bailout by the UK government.

The Bank abandoned plans to launch Williams & Glyn as a standalone bank earlier this year after reporting an operating loss before tax of £274m in H1 2016 and an attributable loss of over £2bn.

It then entered discussions with Santander, though negotiations broke down last month, reportedly over the price tag for Williams & Glyn.

Laith Khalaf, Senior Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented: "Williams & Glyn is a major millstone around the neck of RBS, and selling it on would allow the troubled bank to focus on its other problems, which are plentiful.

"However the issue is always going to be the price tag set for the Williams & Glyn franchise. Brexit hasn’t exactly improved banking conditions in the UK, and everyone and their dog knows that RBS is a forced seller, which hardly makes for a compelling negotiating position.

"The end result is RBS may have to accept less than it wants for Williams & Glyn, however compared to the scale of misconduct costs RBS is facing in the US, any haircut it takes on Williams and Glyn will probably look like loose change."