RBS offloads Euroclear stake in £245m deal

The deal saw InterContinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, snapping up RBS’s 4pc stake.

Euroclear, privately-owned by over a hundred shareholders, settles hundreds of trillions of euros worth of trades a year.

While the purchase gives the US financial giant a stake in one of Europe’s largest markets specialists, for its part, RBS said the sale would help it further simplify the taxpayer-controlled bank and strengthen its capital position.

The sale is expected to provide a one-off boost to its fourth quarter results of £175m once costs and tax are discounted.

KPMG acted as financial adviser and Simmons & Simmons as legal adviser to RBS on the Euroclear deal.