5 Dec 2016 07:00
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
5 December 2016
RBS Settlement with majority of claimants in 2008 Shareholder Rights Issue Litigation
In order to minimise further material litigation expense and management distraction and without any admission of liability, RBS has concluded a full and final settlement with three out of the five shareholder groups representing 77% of the claims by value in the 2008 Shareholder Rights Issue litigation.
In total, RBS is willing to make available settlement sums of up to £800 million assuming settlement of all claims, to be split among all five shareholder groups, subject to agreement and claim validation. RBS will now seek to agree finalised terms with members of the remaining two groups whose claims are presently continuing. Any claims for which settlement is not achieved will, however, continue to be vigorously defended. The trial for such claims is due to commence in March 2017.
Ross McEwan, CEO of RBS said: "We have been very clear that we wanted to deal with as many of our legacy litigation issues as possible during 2015 and 2016. We are pleased to have reached this agreement and hope that it will be accepted by the remaining claimant group(s) so that this long course of complex and costly litigation can now be concluded."
The total settlement amount of up to £800 million is covered by existing provisions.
For further information contact:
RBS Investor RelationsAlexander HolcroftHead of Equity Investor Relations+44 20 7672 1758Matthew RichardsonHead of Fixed Income Investor Relations+44 20 7678 1800RBS Media Relations+44 131 523 4205
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those related to RBS and its subsidiaries' regulatory capital position and requirements, financial position, future pension funding requirements, on-going litigation and regulatory investigations, profitability, impairment losses and credit exposures under certain specified scenarios. In addition, forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements typically containing words such as "intends", "expects", "anticipates", "targets", "plans", "believes", "risk", "estimates" and words of similar import. These statements concern or may affect future matters, such as RBS's future economic results, business plans and current strategies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results and performance to differ materially from any expected future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences in current expectations include, but are not limited to, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments, accounting standards, competitive conditions, technological developments, exchange rate fluctuations and general economic conditions. These and other factors, risks and uncertainties that may impact any forward-looking statement or RBS's actual results are discussed in RBS's UK Annual Report and Accounts and materials filed with, or furnished to, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, RBS's Reports on Form 6-K and most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement and RBS does not assume or undertake any obligation or responsibility to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.