The Royal Bank of Scotland said on Monday that it intended to further reduce its stake in the Citizens Financial Group, the US retail bank it spun off in an initial public offering last year.

RBS, which is mostly owned by the British government, said it planned to sell 115 million shares of the bank, equivalent to a 21 per cent stake. It could also sell an overallotment of 17.25 million shares.

If the overallotment is fully exercised, RBS will hold a 46.1 per cent stake in the US bank following the sale. RBS currently has a 70.3 per cent stake in the bank.

In September, Citizens raised $3 billion in its initial public offering in New York. It was the second-largest IPO in the United States last year, behind the $25 billion debut of Alibaba. – Copyright New York Times 2015