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Nationwide interested in buying RBS branches?

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Comments

  • JuicyJesus
    JuicyJesus Posts: 3,832 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    This would be a very, very interesting acquisition, especially in light of the Co-op acquiring a good portion of Lloyds TSB. Quite possibly a huge boon for the mutual sector as well.
    urs sinserly,
    ~~joosy jeezus~~
  • chambta
    chambta Posts: 2,770 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Interesting.
  • pqrdef
    pqrdef Posts: 4,552 Forumite
    I expect they're worried about the competition from the new enlarged Co-op, and the RBS branches will be very cheap. But they'd be crazy.

    The Accenture report was only the excuse for Santander to back out, but the points it makes are presumably true enough. One of them was that Santander's IT couldn't cope with the sheer complexity of RBS's operation.

    And I don't see what Nationwide would want with the business banking that Santander were after.

    Perhaps Lloyds should buy the RBS branches.
    "It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis
  • innovate
    innovate Posts: 16,217 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    pqrdef wrote: »
    .... the RBS branches will be very cheap.
    Not if there are several bidders. Though the price will probably be less than in the collapsed Santander deal
    pqrdef wrote: »
    The Accenture report was only the excuse for Santander to back out, but the points it makes are presumably true enough. One of them was that Santander's IT couldn't cope with the sheer complexity of RBS's operation.
    I haven't seen the Accenture report and don't know whether the systems challenges were the true, and only, reason for Santander pulling out. But I believe IT problems can always be sorted out - it's just a question of how much money you throw at it, and how you manage the projects.
    pqrdef wrote: »
    Perhaps Lloyds should buy the RBS branches.
    They wouldn't be allowed to because they are too big as it is
  • pqrdef
    pqrdef Posts: 4,552 Forumite
    innovate wrote: »
    They wouldn't be allowed to because they are too big as it is
    That's why they weren't allowed to buy HBOS. Until they were.

    RBS could end up being another shotgun deal, though the Treasury probably has a headache choosing a victim.
    "It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis
  • innovate
    innovate Posts: 16,217 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    pqrdef wrote: »
    That's why they weren't allowed to buy HBOS. Until they were.

    But that was totally different circumstances. HBOS was about to go bellies up back then. No similarities at all with the prescribed slimming down of RBS. Nobody could make a case under current circumstances for moving branches from one behemoth to another.
  • newfoundglory
    newfoundglory Posts: 1,912 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Nationwide just closed our local high street branch, why would they want another 300+ branches?

    Maybe they'll put in a cheeky offer like RB would?
  • pqrdef
    pqrdef Posts: 4,552 Forumite
    newfoundglory wrote: »
    Nationwide just closed our local high street branch, why would they want another 300+ branches?
    So they'll be too big for the Co-op to buy.

    I don't think the Co-op's planning to stand still.
    "It will take, five, 10, 15 years to get back to where we need to be. But it's no longer the individual banks that are in the wrong, it's the banking industry as a whole." - Steven Cooper, head of personal and business banking at Barclays, talking to Martin Lewis
  • pmduk
    pmduk Posts: 10,683 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 22 October 2012 at 9:41AM
    With the ramifications of the project verde deal, I reckon it'll be years before the coop is in a position to expand further, hopefully they'll learn from santander's problems in merging several large systems at once.
  • InsideInsurance
    InsideInsurance Posts: 22,460 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    newfoundglory wrote: »
    Nationwide just closed our local high street branch, why would they want another 300+ branches?

    Maybe they'll put in a cheeky offer like RB would?

    In most cases it is not the physical branches they want but the book of business that comes with it. If any established high street bank were to buy them you'd except to see a fair number of the physical locations close over the following years but evidently the customers would still be with the new owners.
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