will shutter its remaining banking operations in India after that selling the assets mighttake longer than intended, the FinancialTimes reported April 11, citing "people close to the situation."

The bankhad earlier planned to sell its onshore Indian banking operations, but concernsthat the regulatory process for the sale could take too long shut down the plan.An executive for the bank said that it might be cheaper for the group to closethe operations given that the value of the assets diminishes each day, thepublication reported.

The movewill lead to the layoff of around 700 employees in India. RBS, however, willretain some 13,000 employees in its back office operations in the country.

Inaddition, the bank did not sell its Indian assets — along with other bankingoperations in Asia — to Australia& New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in 2009 due to regulatoryhurdles, according to "people with knowledge of the process."