The Switzerland-based Coutts International serves clients in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and employees 12,000 people in seven countries.
The UK state-backed lender said in a memo to staff: "We will…work with local management teams to explore options including merging the remainder of the current Coutts International business, considering joint ventures or a sale, thereby reducing RBS’s footprint internationally.
"There are no immediate changes for individuals in these businesses and it is important that we continue to work together to deliver for our customers."
Two sources with knowledge of matter were quoted by Reuters as saying that Coutts International has attracted proposals from a range of bidders, including unnamed Asian and North American banks.
Another source said RBS would recieve between $720m and $1.1bn from the sale, based on a multiple of 2 to 3% of assets under management.
Coutts’s international operations were slimmed down two years ago following the acquisition of its Latin American, Caribbean and African private banking units by the Royal Bank of Canada.
Meanwhile, an RBC spokesman could not be reached for comment on the potential sale.
In February, RBS had announced that Coutts would be integrated with its UK commercial lending business to better connect it with wealthy entrepreneurs.
However, the lender says that the international unit would find to difficult to hit a profitability target of 15% return on equity "given the dynamics of compressed margins and the increasing need for scale in international businesses."
Coutts International is among 100 Swiss banks being investigated by the US regulators for allegedly helping wealthy US citizens evade tax by hiding their assets in secret bank accounts.
Image: RBS confirms plans to sell overseas operations of its private banking unit, Coutts. Photo: courtesy of Photomaniac.
