Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (LON:RBS) put its Brexit contingency plans into action by announcing a move to shift billions of pounds worth of assets to the Netherlands next March if Britain exits the European Union without a deal.
RBS said it had applied to the courts to move £6bn of assets and £7bn billion of liabilities to its Dutch subsidiary, NatWest Markets N.V.
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State-owned RBS wants to move around 30% of its customers out of the UK – a fifth of its revenues – to safeguard the bank against a no-deal Brexit.
In the event that Britain agrees on a transition deal, the move could be “more gradual and subject to further political developments”, RBS said.
British prime minister Theresa May is trying to sell her deal to unconvinced MPs ahead of a key vote on Tuesday which could threaten her government.
Shares in RBS were 2% up at 216.30p in mid-morning trade.