Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is set to launch a trade sale of its Williams & Glyn retail banking arm after receiving various informal approaches for the business.

The lender will start the trade sale process in the first half of 2016, while continuing to prepare for an IPO.

"The strategic attractiveness of Williams & Glyn has been reflected in a number of informal approaches for the business. Therefore whilst continuing preparations for an IPO, we are planning to launch a trade sale process in H1 2016," the UK lender said in a statement.

The bank plans to ink a binding agreement for the sale by end of 2016, and completely offload the business by the end of 2017.

RBS CEO Ross McEwan said: "Separating out the Williams & Glyn business is a complex process, but we remain focused on meeting our State Aid obligation, achieving full divestment by the end of 2017, and reaching the best outcome for shareholders, customers, and staff."

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Williams & Glyn managed net loans and advances to customers worth £20bn as well as customer deposits worth £24bn as of the end of the third quarter of 2015.