Santander pulls out of talks to buy 300 Williams & Glyn branches

Santander has withdrawn from talks with Royal Bank of Scotland to buy more than 300 branches from the state-backed lender, sources have confirmed. The decision on the Williams & Glyn network comes as RBS faces a deadline to sell the business by the end of next year under European state aid rules. Santander and RBS both declined to comment on the story, first reported by the Financial Times.