LONDON (Standard&Poor's) May 18, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has placed the ratings on certain hybrid capital securities issued by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBSG; A-/Stable/A-2) and related entities (excluding RBS N.V.) on CreditWatch with positive implications. The counterparty credit ratings on RBSG and related entities are unaffected by this action. In June 2012, RBSG and certain related entities are due to pay discretionary coupons and dividends on their "may pay" hybrids for the first time since RBSG was prohibited from doing so under the terms of an agreement with the European Commission (EC). This two-year prohibition ended on April 29, 2012, and on May 4, 2012, RBSG announced its intention