RBS to wind down some equity units, jobs to go

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to wind down some parts of its equities operations as part of a broader cutback of its investment banking operations, with thousands of jobs already set to go as part of the restructuring.

"Following our announcement on January 12 about the restructuring of our wholesale banking division, steps have been initiated to wind down certain parts of the EMEA Equity Capital Markets [ECM] and cash equities businesses, and certain associated activities globally," RBS said on Friday.

"This will affect about 200 to 300 employees, mostly in London," added the bank, which is 83% owned by the British government following a state bailout during the 2008 credit crisis.

Last month, RBS said it would cut another 4,450 jobs as part of its retreat from investment banking. The cuts come on top of 2,000 at the investment bank in the second half of 2011 and account for more than a quarter of the unit's staff.

The bank also sold its historic Hoare Govett unit to American bank Jefferies last month and reiterated on Friday that it was in talks with potential buyers for other parts of its equities operations.

These include its Asian cash equities business and associated banking and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division; the M&A business outside Asia and some businesses based in the Netherlands.

Sources with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters that banks in Asia, Australia and the West Asia could be interested in these RBS assets.