Japanese bank to buy Dublin-based RBS aviation unit

SUMITOMO Mitsui Financial Group, Japan’s second biggest bank by market value, won a bid to buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s Dublin-based aircraft-leasing division for about $7.3 billion (€5.764bn).

“Reaching agreement on a deal of this scale in such a volatile market is a significant success for our non-core division,” group finance director, Bruce Van Saun said in an e-mailed statement from RBS.

The transaction is “further evidence of our progress in reducing our non-core portfolio and returning the group to a position of strength”, he said.