RBS eyes Australian assets sale

Brussels moves to salvage Fortis
Belgium and Luxembourg mull the future of the remaining assets of Fortis after the firm's Netherlands operations were nationalised.

Netherlands to buy Fortis assets
The Netherlands takes control of the Dutch operations of ailing financial giant Fortis in a deal worth 16.8bn euros.

Nomura seals Lehman Europe deal
Japanese bank Nomura buys some of Lehman Brothers' European assets for an undisclosed sum, saving thousands of jobs.

Talks off for Commonwealth Bank
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia pulls out of talks to buy ABN Amro's Australian and New Zealand operations.

RBS has £691m loss in first half
Royal Bank of Scotland posts a pre-tax loss of £691m during the first six months of 2008, the second-biggest loss in UK banking history.