LONDON (AP) - The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. (RBS), which is looking to shore up its credit position amid the sub-prime crisis, said yesterday that it is considering a rights issue to raise more capital, a possibility it had previously been unwilling to confirm.

In a terse announcement to the London Stock Exchange, RBS said it would make a further announcement "in due course".

RBS said on Friday that it planned to issue an interim management statement this week. Press reports have speculated that the company may write off up to £5 billion ($10 billion 6.3 billion euros) from the crisis, three times the losses it has already disclosed.

RBS, Britain's second-largest bank by market capitalisation, also stretched its cash reserves last year in leading a consortium including Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Banco Santander in the takeover of Dutch giant ABN Amro Holding NV.

The crisis has forced other big financial institutions such as Citigroup and Switzerland's UBS to raise new capital from investors.