Britain seeks to avoid sale of RBS branch network

London

THE British government said it would ask the European Commission not to require Royal Bank of Scotland to sell its Williams & Glyn branch network by the end of this year.

The lender, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, is required by European regulators to divest the branch network as a condition of the government bailout of £45 billion (S$79.2 billion) that it received during the financial crisis.