The Motley Fool schreef:
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) will probably be blocked from calling or making future coupon payments on its subordinated bonds as a condition of European Union approval of its bailout by the U.K. government last year, RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester said Tuesday.
RBS earlier this month said it wouldn't make an early repayment on the October call dates of four subordinated-debt securities, on the orders of the U.K. financial regulator and pending discussions with the E.U. Commission about RBS's restructuring plan.
RBS is 70% owned by the government after a GBP20 billion rescue last year. The commission is expected within the next couple of weeks to rule on the state aid package, which also includes a plan for the government to insure about GBP300 billion in risky assets RBS holds. On the commission's orders, several banks have been asked to refrain from paying interest on some subordinated bonds in recent weeks.
"We have been told we can't call (bonds) pending approval of E.U. state aid. We expect them to say we can't pay coupons as part of the settlement," Hester told investors at a London conference sponsored by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.
Hester said RBS has "observer status" in the decisions on what it can and can't do as it awaits the commission's decision on the aid package. "We are certainly able to put in our views, that are sometimes listened to and sometimes ignored," he said.
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