HSBC, which unlike RBS did not take state help during the financial crisis and consolidated its position as Europe's biggest bank, said it would pay up to $52 million for RBS Kazakhstan to increase its customer base there fivefold and tap into important trade flows with China.
The RBS business includes four branches, two support offices, 490 staff and personal customer loan and credit card portfolios. HSBC has been operating in Kazakhstan since 1998 and employs 250 people there.
Kazakhstan has about 15.5 million people, and 10 percent of exports are to China, which HSBC is targeting.
RBS on Wednesday raised $150 million from the sale of retail businesses in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
It is exiting up to 16 countries deemed as non-core by Chief Executive Stephen Hester following a review of businesses after he took over the bank, which is now 83 percent owned by the UK government.