RBS Said to Dismiss Most of Team Overseeing Central Europe Debt

By Stephen Morris and Sally Bakewell  

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

RBS Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan is shrinking investment-banking operations and... Read More

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc dismissed most of its team overseeing debt capital markets in central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa amid a review of operations outside the U.K., according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The bank cut about 10 jobs at the London-based unit covering loans, bonds and rates, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to talk publicly. Dismissals are mainly related to Russia and central and eastern Europe, according to one of the people.
RBS Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan, 57, has set up a bad bank, combined divisions and scaled back the investment bank as he strives to restore investor confidence in the wake of fines such as for rigging benchmark interest rates. The bank, which is 80 percent owned by the British government, said last month it’s considering selling the international arm of its
Coutts private bank to focus on wealthy clients in the U.K.
“RBS probably had one of the best teams in this region,” Ian Fitzgerald, CEO of Loans Specialist Advisory Services Ltd. and former head of loan markets at Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY), said in a telephone interview. “It’s a shame to see them retrenching, but the quality and now availability of these individuals is probably an opportunity for their competitors.”
RBS shares fell 0.6 percent to 344.80 pence at 11:20 a.m. in London. They have increased about 2 percent this year, making them the only major British lender to post gains.
Hasan Mustafa, head of the debt capital markets business CEEMEA, is said to be leaving amid the review, two people familiar with the matter said earlier this month. RBS’s wider Middle East and Africa business remains under a separate review and parts may be closed or sold, according to one of the people.
Some people in the division are keeping their jobs to complete debt mandates already in progress, according to the people. Those dismissed were encouraged to look at other opportunities within the bank, said one of the people.
Rebecca Nelson, a spokeswoman at RBS, declined to comment.