RBS warned not to reject £1.5bn branch bid

The leader of a £1.5bn bid to take over 315 branches up for sale by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has warned the lender it must take the offer seriously.

The Telegraph reports Andy Higginson, ex-Tesco finance director, said the board of RBS would have to be "very brave" not to accept the bid. The branches are up for sale due to European anti-state aid laws following the bank's multi-billion pound government bailout. It took £45.5bn from the government and is therefore still 81% taxpayer owned. Higginson told the Telegraph: "This is not their [RBS’s] option. They have an obligation to get rid of this business. I think it would be a very brave board that went to the EU having turned down a deal on the table that values the business at bo...