Reserve Bank of India has blocked UBS's acquisition of Standard Chartered's mutual funds business in India, citing existing restrictions on transfer of shares in a non-banking finance company, according to a report in the Economic Times newspaper. In January, the Swiss bank bought 100 per cent of Standard Chartered Asset Management Company Private and Standard Chartered Trustee Private for more than $118 million. Citing unidentified sources, the paper said an asset management company, which was managing the mutual funds, was the non-banking finance company and the central bank bars NBFCs transferring shares without its approval. The Indian central bank licenses NBFC operations and, in this case, a secondary transaction entailed a transfer of this NBFC licence to UBS, it said. UBS has filed a fresh application. A Standard Chartered spokeswoman told the paper the closure of the deal was subject to UBS securing all regulatory approvals.