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Bank sets bid deadline for insurance division

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has given potential buyers until the end of the month to finalise offers for its insurance division.

Four suitors, including Zurich and Allianz, have put forward informal first-round bids for the business, which is valued at up to £8 billion ($16.5 billion).

US insurer Berkshire Hathaway withdrew its interest after a provisional bid of £6 billion ($12.4 billion) was rejected by the bank, as did fellow American giant AIG, which was forced to withdraw after being hit by subprime-related writedowns.

Analysts expect the RBS business to fetch between £5 billion and £7 billion ($10.3 billion to $14.5 million).