Royal Bank of Scotland struggling to sell US offshoot
Despite apparently agreeing a sale of its trading business Sempra to JP Morgan Chase it looks as though Royal Bank of Scotland will have to revise these plans after the US government introduced the idea of a possible ban on various trading practices. These high-risk trading practices are central to the Sempra operation and many believe the planned $2 billion sale could be derailed in the short term.
Slowly but surely we are starting to see how the US government's actions are affecting the UK banking arena as well as the worldwide banking sector. Not only is there speculation regarding a possible similar move in the UK but many UK operations have US offshoot which will be caught by the US levy and the restriction in trading practices suggested by the authorities.
Despite the fact that the worldwide banking arena has changed dramatically over the last two years we are set to see more dramatic changes in the short to medium term. The banking system and the banking arena which we know from years gone by is likely to disappear, at least in the short to medium term, although no doubt old practices and old habits will die hard.
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