
JPMorgan Buy of RBS Sempra Hits Snag
NEW YORK (
) --
JPMorgan Chase's
(JPM) - Get Report
proposed acquisition of
RBS Sempra's
global commodities trading business has hit some snags, the
Financial Times
reports.
JPMorgan Chase is concerned about buying the group's American division after President Barack Obama announced that U.S. banks might one day be banned from engaging in proprietary trading, industry insiders told the newspaper.
The
Financial Times
reports the U.S. division of RBS Sempra's commodities operations could be put up for sale separately to avoid any possible restrictions put in place by the Obama administration.
The bank is said to remain committed to buying RBS Sempra's European operations and its global oil trading group, which together account for about 50% of the business.
RBS Sempra is a joint venture of
Royal Bank of Scotland
(RBS) - Get Report
and
Sempra Energy
(SRE) - Get Report
. Royal Bank of Scotland was ordered to sell its 51% stake in the joint venture under a European Commission state-aid ruling.
JPMorgan's talks over buying the business remain "constructive," a person familiar with the negotiations told the
Financial Times
.
Deutsche Bank
(DB) - Get Report
, meanwhile, still maintains some interest in purchasing RBS's stake in the joint venture, the report says.
Follow TheStreet.com on
and become a fan on









