Beijing  - Cash-strapped Royal Bank of Scotland Plc is seeking to sell off its entire stake in Bank of China Ltd in hopes of raising 2.3 billion dollars, according to a report published Wednesday in China.

Shanghai Daily reported that Royal Bank of Scotland was seeking 1.68 Hong Kong dollars (22 US cents) per share for its 10.8 billion shares in Bank of China. The price would be more than 8 per cent below Bank of China's price at the close of Tuesday trading.

London  - Britain's Barclays bank is to cut at least 2,100 job globally across its investment banking and wealth management businesses, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Barclays, which employs 150,000 staff around the world, is believed to be planning to cut 1,300 jobs at its investment arm Barclays Capital, while 500 positions will be axed at Barclays Wealth.

A further 370 jobs are set to go at Barclays Global Investors. Earlier this month, the bank announced that about 400 jobs would go - mainly in its IT departments in Britain.

Riga  - Latvia's transport minister, Ainars Slesers, called for legislation Monday to punish the Scandinavian banks dominating the Baltic banking sector for "irresponsible activity in handing out money" over recent years.

Speaking on the LNT television channel, the controversial politician blamed Scandinavian banks operating in the region, which include Swedbank, SEB and Danske Bank, for contributing to an economic crisis in Latvia that forced his government to seek a 10-billion-dollar international bailout in December.

Slesers suggested laws could be introduced restricting the banks' rights to pursue debtors and seize assets from defaulters.

London - The British government is set to own more than 40 per cent of the new "superbank" resulting from the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS after a disappointing shareholders' response to a recapitalization scheme.

The two banks confirmed Monday that only a small percentage of new shares under the offer totalling 13 billion pounds (19.5 billion dollars) were bought by shareholders at preferential prices under the scheme launched at the height of the banking crisis.

This means that the government will ultimately own 43.4 per cent of the new Lloyds Banking Group, which is due to begin trading next week.

Melbourne, Jan. 12 : In the wake of Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services'' billion dollar corporate scandal, the management of ANZ Bank has announced that it will reviewing its links with the firm.

ANZ Bank has around 100 Satyam contractors who support IT projects. The bank''s Indian subsidiary which employs under 2000 people, primarily uses these contractors.

Last week, the bank told its employees that it would develop a contingency plan, while admitting that its relationship with Satyam was "modest".