Royal Bank of Scotland Group could create a new fintech fund as part of a plan to promote competition in the UK retail banking market, after the lender revealed it wants to abandon the sale of about 300 bank branches to meet the conditions of its £46 billion government bailout in 2008.

The European Commission, which had to approve the bank's post-crisis bailout and had insisted upon the sale of the branches in return, is now set to consider "an alternative plan for RBS", according to a market statement by the bank today, February 20.