EXHIBIT 8.1
8.1 Principal subsidiaries of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
The principal subsidiary undertakings of the company are shown below. Their capital consists of ordinary and preference shares which are unlisted with the exception of certain preference shares issued by NatWest. The Royal Bank, Churchill Insurance PLC and RBS Life Holdings are directly owned by the company, and all of the other subsidiary undertakings are owned directly, or indirectly through intermediate holding companies, by the Royal Bank and are all wholly-owned. All of these subsidiaries are included in the Group’s consolidated financial statements and have an accounting reference date of 31 December.
| Nature of business area | Country of incorporation and principal of operation |
| | |
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc | Banking | Great Britain |
National Westminster Bank Plc(1,4) | Banking | Great Britain |
Churchill Insurance Group PLC | Insurance | Great Britain |
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. | Banking | US |
Coutts Bank (Switzerland) Limited | Private banking | Switzerland |
Coutts & Co(2) | Private banking | Great Britain |
Direct Line Insurance plc | Insurance | Great Britain |
Greenwich Capital Markets, Inc. | Broker dealer | US |
Lombard North Central PLC | Banking, credit finance, leasing and hire purchase | Great Britain |
National Westminster Home Loans Limited | Home mortgage finance | Great Britain |
The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited | Banking | Jersey |
RBS Life Holdings Limited | Life assurance | Great Britain |
Ulster Bank Limited(3) | Banking | Northern Ireland |
| | |
| | |
Notes: |
(1) | The company does not hold any of the NatWest preference shares in issue.
|
(2) | Coutts & Co is incorporated with unlimited liability. Its registered office is 440 Strand, London WC2R 0Q5
|
(3) | Ulster Bank Limited and its subsidiary undertakings also operate in the Republic of Ireland.
|
(4) | On 31 January 2003, ownership of NatWest was transferred from the company to the Royal Bank.
|
The above information is provided in relation to the principal subsidiaries as permitted by Section 231(5) of the Companies Act 1985. Full information on all subsidiaries will be included in the Annual Return filed with the UK Companies House.