LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC said it will raise 12 billion pounds through a rights issue in order to rebuild its capital reserves, and announced plans to raise a further 4 bln stg by selling assets including its insurance unit.
RBS, the UK's second-biggest bank, also unveiled credit crunch-related write-downs of 4.3 billion pounds after tax, but said its underlying performance had 'remained satisfactory.'
'This is a difficult time for the financial services industry, and it has presented us with specific challenges,' RBS chairman Sir Tom McKillop said in a statement.
RBS said the rights issue was fully underwritten. Shareholders will be given the opportunity to buy 11 new RBS shares for every 18 shares they own at a price of 200 pence per share, a 34.9 percent discount to last night's closing price of 372-1/2 pence.
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