Zurich, Allstate weigh bids for unit

Zurich Financial Services AG and Allstate Corp. are weighing bids for Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc's insurance unit, three people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

RBS is under pressure to raise cash after $11.6 billion of credit-related writedowns this year. The insurance unit may fetch about $12 billion, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because no agreement has been reached.

Northbrook-based Allstate is open to making acquisitions outside the U.S., instead of creating a unit from scratch, said George Ruebenson, the president of Allstate's largest subsidiary.