Stamford, Conn. (May 5, 2009) – RBS Sempra Commodities, the commodities trading joint venture between RBS and Sempra Energy, today announced Kaushik Amin has been appointed CEO.  Amin will be based in Stamford, Connecticut and will report to Peter Nielsen, Global Head of Markets for RBS’ Global Banking and Markets (GBM) division.

        Amin joins RBS after 14 years at Lehman Brothers, where he was most recently the Global Head of Liquid Markets.  At Lehman Brothers, Amin headed a 1000-person business line and had direct responsibility for the Rates, Foreign Exchange, Emerging Markets and Commodities businesses.  He oversaw the growth of the Rates business to a top three global player and grew the Commodities business to a top five US business within three years of its inception.  He was previously an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Michigan and his research has been published in major financial journals.

        “Deregulation in the energy industry has led to countless opportunities for market participants with the experience, reach and sector expertise in commodities,” said Nielsen.  “The commodities business is an integral part of our product offering and under Kaushik’s leadership I am confident RBS Sempra Commodities will continue to grow and provide world class products and services to our clients.  His experience in building and growing high-revenue businesses will add greatly to our management team.”

        “During the most recent quarter, the RBS Sempra Commodities joint venture benefited from improved results in natural gas and oil marketing,” said Mark Snell, Executive Vice President and CFO for Sempra Energy.  “Kaushik’s experience running international businesses in varied market conditions will contribute greatly to the continued success of the firm. We look forward to him joining our management team.”

        Amin holds a Bachelors of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, India and an MS in Operations Research and a PhD in Finance from Cornell University.

        RBS Sempra Commodities combines financial risk-management techniques with physical expertise to provide innovative solutions for customers in natural gas, natural gas liquids, power, petroleum and petroleum products, coal, emissions, ethanol and base metals.

        The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
     
        The RBS group is a large international banking and financial services company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas and Asia, serving more than 40 million customers. 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, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Direct Line and Churchill. 

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