Royal Bank of Scotland to Buy Charter One

Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain’s second-biggest bank, agreed to buy Charter One Financial Corp. for $10.5 billion, expanding into six states in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest.

Royal Bank has been growing in the U.S. since buying Rhode Island-based Citizens Financial in 1988, acquiring five U.S. banks last year. The lender in February agreed to buy the credit card unit of Connecticut-based People’s Bank for $2.66 billion to gain 1.1 million customers in New England.