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RBS insurance arm awaits buyer

First-round offers for the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) insurance business are likely to drag on through June after the extension of an initial deadline, media reports have claimed.

US giant AIG, China’s Ping An and Italy’s Generali are understood to have pulled out of the bidding, leaving Allianz and Zurich as two of about four major insurers still interested.

Some bidders need more time to study the RBS form, the reports claim.

The RBS insurance division includes UK household brands Direct Line and Churchill and is expected to fetch £7 billion ($14.5 billion).

RBS put the division on the market last month.