Standard Chartered is poised to take over the Royal Bank of Scotland's retail and small and medium enterprises in China, India and Malaysia for around $250 million, the Economic Times reports.

According to unnamed sources cited by the publication, the official announcement will likely come out in two weeks. Talks are currently ongoing in London and are expected to close early next week.

The same sources said that a bulk of the earnings from the sale will be used to pad RBS's losses in the next 12 to 18 months, the publication said.

RBS has told WealthBriefing – WealthBriefingAsia’s sister publication – that it has no plans to spin off its wealth management operations in Asia.

Standard Chartered relies on its Asian operations for over 70 per cent of its income and more than 80 per cent of its operating profit. With regulatory approval, it could buy five or six of RBS's 13 branches in China, around 10 from 26 in India, and an unknown number from four in Malaysia.