Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks with National Australia Bank, Australia’s largest bank by value, to sell the Australian and New Zealand assets the UK lender acquired as part of last year’s break-up bid for ABN Amro.

The business, which could raise as much as A$1bn ($960m), is the latest asset to be put up for sale by RBS as the bank attempts to rebuild its capital reserves, which have been stretched by the credit crisis and its role in the ABN takeover.