Tesco in £950m banking deal

Supermarket Tesco today agreed a £950m (€1.2bn) deal with Royal Bank of Scotland to take full control of the pair’s Tesco Personal Finance joint venture.

Tesco said full ownership would enable it “over time” to extend its financial services business from a collection of products to a full service retail bank.

The disposal of RBS’s 50% holding comes at a crucial time for the NatWest owner as it looks to bolster its battered balance sheet.