RBS to cut hundreds of US jobs

ROYAL Bank of Scotland is planning to cut mortgage lending and axe hundreds of jobs in the United States to help it escape new rules being introduced by American regulators.

The bank, which is 81 per cent owned by the UK taxpayer, will shed up to 400 jobs in its US mortgage business, slashing the Connecticut unit by two-thirds. If it is to avoid stringent new capital rules, it has to cut its assets in the country to below $50 billion (£29.9bn).