RBS investors approach Sainsbury's chairman: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Institutional investors in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) have approached Philip Hampton, chairman of supermarket group J. Sainsbury (SBRY.L), about becoming chairman of the bank, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The newspaper said a number of shareholders had approached Hampton and other "City heavyweights" in recent weeks to gauge their interest in the role.

But the report said Hampton, who has won plaudits for his time at Sainsbury's, had not been approached directly by RBS or headhunters currently engaged in efforts to recruit additional non-executives to the bank's board.

The news follows a decision by Britain's second-biggest bank to raise 12 billion pounds ($23.4 billion) in the biggest ever rights issue.

The investors would be looking to replace RBS chairman Tom McKillop as chairman. RBS Chief Executive Fred Goodwin has also come under fire for his handling of the bank.

No one at Sainsbury's was immediately available to comment on the report and a spokeswoman at RBS declined to comment.

(Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)