RBS leaves project finance, levfin in shock

Royal Bank of Scotland sent shockwaves around the loan market yesterday (Thursday) when it announced it was shutting down its leveraged and project finance lending operations, two areas in which the bank had previously been a market leader. RBS’s business restructuring, details of which were revealed alongside the £24.1bn loss in the bank’s full year results, confirmed widespread fears among project finance and leveraged specialists in Europe that these markets are in for further pain as big providers of underwriting commitments and capital start to signal their complete withdrawal.