The Royal Bank of Scotland is selling loans worth up to $8.0 billion (5.3 billion euros) to private equity firms after it suffered huge write-downs linked to the global credit crunch, a report said on Monday. RBS is selling to Apollo, GSO Capital, Blackstone's debt investing arm, and TPG, said people familiar with the deal according to the Financial Times. RBS was unavailable for comment on Monday. On Friday, the bank had revealed an $11.4 billion hit from the US subprime crisis and credit squeeze, and a resulting half-year loss among the biggest in British banking history. RBS, the second-biggest British bank, admitted being humbled by exposure to the subprime crisis and reported a first-half net loss of 802 million pounds. That contrasted with a profit after tax of 3.56 billion pounds during the equivalent period in 2007. Only a year ago RBS was riding high, leading a consortium takeover worth $100 billion for Dutch bank ABN Amro. Apollo, TPG and Blackstone's GSO, which is the group's debt investing arm, could make returns of up to 30 percent on deals of this type given the markdowns on the price, it added. Separately Apollo and GSO have bought around $5 billion of debt from Deutsche Bank and RBS that financed the acquisition of radio station operator Clear Channel by Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners. In total Apollo, TPG and GSO have bought $25 billion to $30 billion in similar loans since April, it added.
