Top 5 Asian Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS)

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS), incorporated on March 25, 1968, is a holding company of a global banking and financial services group. The Company operates in the United Kingdom, the United States and internationally through its two principal subsidiaries: The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (the Royal Bank) and National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest). Both the Royal Bank and NatWest are clearing banks. In the United States, the Company's subsidiary Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (Citizens) is a commercial banking organization. The Company's business segment include UK Retail, UK Corporate, Wealth, Global Transaction Services, Ulster Bank, US Retail & Commercial, Global Banking & Markets (GBM), RBS Insurance, Central items, Non-Core Division and Business Services. In February 2012, Ensign Group, Inc. acquired $21.5 million seven-year term loan from RBS Asset Finance, Inc., an affiliate of the Company. In May 2012, The Paragon Group of Companies PLC announced the acquisition of further unsecured consumer loans, through its Idem Capital Securities subsidiary, from the Company.

In September 2011, the Company sold Hilton Glasgow City hotel to Topland Group. In October 2011, Paragon Group of Companies PLC acquired a portfolio of unsecured consumer loans from Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. In December 2011, the Company sold its tenanted pub business to Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company (Management) Limited (S&NPC), a subsidiary of Heineken N.V.

As of December 31, 2011, the Royal Bank and NatWest had 627 and 1,493 retail branches, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Ulster Bank has a foot print of 236 branches and a network of business banking offices across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. US Retail & Commercial had 1,519 retail banking offices (including in-store branches)! covering Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

UK Retail

The Company offers a range of banking products and related financial services to the personal market. It serves customers through the RBS and NatWest networks of branches and automated teller machines (ATMs) in the United Kingdom, telephony, online and mobile.

UK Corporate

The Company is a provider of banking, finance, and risk management services to the corporate and small and medium enterprises (SME) sector in the United Kingdom. It offers a range of banking products and related financial services through a nationwide network of relationship managers, and also through telephone and Internet channels. The product range includes asset finance through the Lombard brand.

Wealth

The Company provides private banking and investment services in the United Kingdom through Coutts & Co and Adam & Company. It also offers offshore banking through RBS International, NatWest Offshore and Isle of Man Bank, and international private banking through Coutts & Co Ltd.

Global Transaction Services

The Company offers global payments, cash and liquidity management, and trade finance and commercial card products and services. Through the network and partner bank agreements, GTS is able to support and connect customers across 128 countries.

Ulster Bank

Ulster Bank is retail and business bank in Northern Ireland. It provides a range of financial services. As of December 31, 2011, the Retail Markets division, which had a network of 236 branches, operated in the personal and financial planning sectors. The Corporate Markets division provides services to SME business customers, corporates and institutional markets.

US Retail and Commercial

The Company provides financial services through the Citizens and Charte! r One bra! nds. US Retail & Commercial is engaged in retail and corporate banking activities through its branch network in 12 states in the United States and through non-branch offices in othe! r states.!

Global Banking and Markets

The Company is a banking partner to corporations and financial institutions globally, providing a range of debt and equity financing, risk management and investment services to its customers. The division is organized along six principal business lines: money markets, rates flow trading, currencies, equities, credit and mortgage markets, and portfolio management and origination.

RBS Insurance

The Company provides a range of general insurance products to consumers through a range of brands, including Direct Line, Churchill and Privilege. It also provides insurance services for third party brands through its UKI Partnerships business. In the commercial sector, its NIG and Direct Line for Business operations provide insurance products for businesses through brokers or direct respectively. Through its international division, RBS Insurance sells general insurance, mainly motor, in Germany and Italy. In addition to insurance services, RBS Insurance continues to provide support and reassurance to millions of the United Kingdom motorists through its Green Flag breakdown recovery service and Tracker stolen vehicle recovery and telematics business. On 15 February 2012, a new corporate brand, Direct Line Group, was announced.

Central Functions

Central Functions consist of corporate functions, such as treasury, funding and finance, risk management, legal, communications and human resources. The Centre manages the Company's capital resources and regulatory projects and provides services to the operating divisions.

Non-Core Division

Non-Core Division manages separately assets, which the Company intends to run off or dispose of. The division contains a range of businesses and asset portfol! ios from ! the GBM division, higher risk profile asset portfolios, including excess risk concentrations, and other illiquid portfolios. It als o includes a range of other portfolios and businesses, inclu! ding regi! onal markets businesses.

Business Services

Business Services supports the customer-facing businesses and provides operational technology, customer support in telephony, account management, lending and money transmission, global purchasing, property and other services. It also leverages its purchasing power and is the Company's center for managing large-scale and complex change.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Meanwhile, financial stocks took a hit, as six banks— HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), UBS AG (UBS), Citigroup (C), J.P. Morgan Chase Co. (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) —reached a settlement to resolve allegations that they had worked together to try to manipulate the foreign-exchange market to boost their profits.

• [By John Udovich]

  The poorly conceived Scottish Independence vote has failed – something that could be good news for Scottish stocks like Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE: RBS), Aberdeen Asset Management (OTCMKTS: ABDNY) and SSE PLC (OTCMKTS: SSEZY) that have well traded ADRs on US exchanges. To begin with, its worth mentioning the work done by Paul Marsh of London Business School and Scott Evans of Walbrook Economics where they identified 100 purely Scottish stocks currently listed in London and compared this with a parallel 'Rest of the UK' index over the last 60 years. They found that £1 invested in the Scotsie 100 in 1955 would have grown to £648 today (with dividends reinvested), a 5.7% increase in real (inflation-adjusted) terms. However, £1 invested in the rest of the UK would have grown to £1,168, a 6.8% increase.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.c! om/top-5-! asian-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now.html