Reuters:

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) has rebuffed efforts by the British government, a major shareholder, to coax the lender into facilitating trade with Iran as it seeks to avoid risky business, sources with knowledge of the discussions say.

In recent months British officials have sought to boost business ties with Iran - a year on from the lifting of international sanctions - as Britain tries to forge new trade ties following June's vote to leave the European Union.

The sources said Britain's finance ministry had tried to use the government's influence with RBS and to a lesser extent Lloyds (LLOY.L), in which it holds a minority stake, to help speed up trade finance with Iran, including clearing services for Iranian banks in pounds.

Despite the lifting of international sanctions, which included banking restrictions, Iran continues to struggle to access Western finance and tap major Western banks, hindering trade and investment.

A senior Iranian banking official said Tehran had several meetings in recent months with British government officials.

"We asked UK officials to help us to overcome this issue. We were promised that the British government would try to convince the banks, including Lloyds and RBS," the official said.

"Nothing is happening on the ground."...

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