Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has already garnered “significant expressions of interest” for its Luxembourg fund management business but has no firm plans for selling its whole banking operation in the Grand Duchy, Delano has learned.

The bank, which is 82% owned by the British government following a 2008 bailout, announced earlier this year that it would dispose of its Grand Duchy holdings.

“In line with our strategy to make RBS a smaller, more focused bank, we have taken the decision to sell RBS (Luxembourg) S.A.,” the company said in an official statement on Monday. “We are currently working with PwC to select a limited number of potential buyers who are interested in continuing to grow and invest in the business, and are willing to commit to a timely and efficient sale process.”

The bank has “received significant expressions of interest for that business,” according to a source who is familiar with the matter.

Last autumn, Revel Wood, the unit’s CEO, told Delano in an interview that roughly 60 people worked for the fund management company.

Whether or not those jobs will stay in the Grand Duchy remains to be seen. “Whoever acquires RBS (Luxembourg) S.A. will decide where the business should be located,” the source noted. The bank hopes “to secure as many jobs as possible in the sale process” and is trying to communicate with employees and social partners proactively, the source argued on Tuesday.

Among its major clients is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. “It hasn’t been difficult to attract new clients during this process and ICBC is still a client of RBS (Luxembourg) S.A.,” the source stated.

Banking business deal still to be broached

The “exit approach for RBS Luxembourg GBL”, its wholesale banking operation in the Grand Duchy, has yet to be confirmed, the source revealed. There is apparently no imminent move. From the bank’s perspective, “it is business as usual for RBS Luxembourg GBL.”

During the same interview with Delano last year, Wood said around 50 people worked for the banking business in Kirchberg.