Its importance has grown in recent years after the banking crisis forced two of the U.K.'s largest financial institutions, Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, to halt dividend payments after the government bailed them out.

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European banks including UBS AG, Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG have announced more than 70, 000 job cuts since midyear, compared with 42, 000 by U.S. peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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HSBC, the most active underwriter of "dim sum" bonds overall, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, for instance, have formed teams dedicated to developing their offshore yuan services in London.

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Group chief executive, Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc.

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"You're seeing a gradual recovery in consumer spending from some of the disastrous numbers we saw after the crisis in 2008, " said Omair Sharif, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC in Stamford, Conn.

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Deutsche Bank sank 4.7%, Royal Bank of Scotland was down 4.2%, Barclays PLC was down 2.8%.

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