"DBS Group Holdings" Ltd. (DBS),the largest bank in South East Asia, said that it will acquire Royal Bank of Scotland Group"s banking operations in China.
RBS will transfer around 25,000 customers in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen to DBS China, a bank headquartered in Singapore. The transfer of all the 25,000 accounts, which have USD 900 million worth of deposits, would bring the loan-deposit ratio of DBS China down to 70% from its current level of 79%.
DBS will not pay any cash as part of the deal, said Melvin Teo, CEO of DBS China, who said that RBS wanted to exit the retail and commercial banking sectors, which is why DBS took over the divisions in question for free. For RBS, this is part of a deal that integrates with the program to divest itself of its assets following its rescue by the government, and the huge losses it suffered, respectively.
RBS will continue to provide banking services to major companies and institutional customers in China.