RBS to buy stake in Suzhou lender

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is finalizing details of a deal that would give it a 19.9% stake in Suzhou Trust, the Wall Street Journal reported. The terms or value of the deal have not been disclosed, and the agreement still must be approved by the China Banking Regulation Commission. Suzhou Trust, which had US$907 million in trust assets last year, is controlled by Suzhou International Development Group, itself owned by the Suzhou city government. In 2005, RBS led a consortium that paid US$3 billion for a combined 10% stake in Bank of China, of which it now owns 4.26%.