RBS shrinks investment banking, 4000 jobs could go

Royal Bank of Scotland, the 83% state-owned lender, may be on the verge of shedding between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs, reports Reuters.

The firm has come under increasing pressure from the coalition government to reduce its riskier investment banking activities in its Global Banking and Markets (GBM) division.

GBM earnings had been helping repair the RBS balance sheet in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis but volatility caused by fears over Eurozone sovereign debt have seen profits drop by up to 80%.

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With the government determined to "ring fence" orthodox banking away from investment banking GBM will become more costly to finance, giving the RBS board yet another reason to shrink the business.

Reuters reports the corporate broker Hoare Govett and the Cash Equities division may be sold and the rest of GBM merged with Global Transaction Services. It's thought there would be a significant reduction in headcount following the dismemberment of GBM, with some sources claiming the restructuring could cost £1bn.

BS