RBS Launches Process To Replace Hoare Govett As Corporate Broker-Report

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS.LN) has launched a process to replace its corporate broker Hoare Govett, which it sold off several months ago, The Independent on Sunday reports without citing sources.

The newspaper said that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) are among those looking to pitch. Morgan Stanley declined to comment while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs weren't immediately available to comment.

RBS sold Hoare Govett to Jefferies Group Inc. (JEF) several months ago in a bid to reduce its exposure to investment banking, the newspaper said.

The Independent on Sunday also said that Rexam PLC (REX.LN), the consumer packaging and beer can maker, has replaced Hoare Govett with Credit Suisse Group AG (CS).

Rexam made the decision before the broker was sold to Jefferies, but it is a blow after the company also lost security giant G4S PLC (GFS.LN) and pharmaceuticals group GlaxoSmith-Kline (GSK.LN) since the end of last year, the newspaper reported.

However, Hoare Govett has made some ground up in the mining sector since moving to Jefferies, an area in which the investment bank has significant corporate advisory expertise. It added Nord Gold NV (NORD.LN), a spin-off from the Russian group OAO Severstal (CHMF.RS), and Sirius Minerals PLC (SXX.LN), an outfit exploring for Potash in the UK, the newspaper said.

It is understood that Hoare Govett might be closing in on more broking roles in the natural resources sector, though it also won a role with Bilfinger Berger SE (GBF.XE) Infrastructure Fund, which was spun-off in London from its German parent in March.

Spokespeople contacted by the newspaper for RBS and Jefferies Hoare Govett declined to comment on the article.

-By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]