Company Press Release

Goldman Sachs Asset Management to Acquire RBS’ Money Market Funds

LONDON--Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”) announced today that it will acquire the Global Treasury Funds, which are a range of money market funds managed by RBS Asset Management (”RBSAM”).

“From RBS’s perspective, this transaction represents another stage in our strategic plan to focus on our core customer franchises. We are confident that this represents the best deal for our clients.”

GSAM has a long history of partnering with institutions to deliver liquidity solutions and over 30 years of experience managing money market funds using a conservative approach. This transaction complements GSAM’s strong fixed income and liquidity management businesses in Europe and globally.

“GSAM’s acquisition of these money market funds emphasizes our strong and continued commitment to providing liquidity solutions on a global scale,” said Timothy J. O’Neill and Eric S. Lane, co-heads of the Investment Management Division at Goldman Sachs.

“GSAM is a global leader in liquidity management with $195 billion in money market fund assets under management, 33% of which is in Europe*,” said Kathleen Hughes, GSAM’s Global Head of Liquidity Sales and European Head of Institutional Sales. “This acquisition has the potential to nearly double the size of our Sterling-denominated offering and strengthen GSAM’s position in the European market, ensuring we are well positioned to deliver the scale and service that our clients have come to expect.”

Commenting on the transaction, Scott McMunn, CEO, RBSAM said: “From RBS’s perspective, this transaction represents another stage in our strategic plan to focus on our core customer franchises. We are confident that this represents the best deal for our clients.”

RBS has decided to exit, confident that GSAM can provide its current clients with high caliber money market solutions and services.

Both RBS and GSAM are fully committed to continuing excellent service for RBS money market fund clients and will work in partnership to ensure a seamless transition. There will be no changes in how accounts will be managed during the transition period and no expenses will be borne by any of the funds or investors.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to approval by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Irish Stock Exchange (the Global Treasury Funds are Irish domiciled funds), as well as a fund investor vote.

*Source: GSAM as of 30 September 2013

Notes to Editors

RBS Markets and International Banking (M and IB)

RBS Markets and International Banking (M and IB) is a leading banking partner to major corporations, financial institutions, government and public sector clients around the world. M and IB provides an extensive range of products and services in debt financing, global markets, risk management, investor products, financial advisory and transaction services. The division focuses on long-term client relationships and excellence in product execution underpinned by global insight, local knowledge and a prudent and sustainable banking model to meet the evolving market and regulatory backdrop. Committed to serving clients' needs internationally, M and IB has on-the-ground operations in 37 countries.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)

The RBS Group is a large international banking and financial services company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia, serving over 30 million customers worldwide. The Group provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers through its two principal subsidiaries, The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, as well as through a number of other well-known brands including Citizens, Charter One, Ulster Bank, Coutts.

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), which oversees $991 billion in assets under supervision as of 30 September 2013. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1988 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.