Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sold offshore loans held by its Lombard Finance subsidiary to specialist lenders Investec and Shawbrook Bank, according to a Reuters report.

Investec and Shawbrook will take over the loans, which were provided to businesses to buy assets such as machinery, ships or aircraft, Reuters said.

“This is part of our long-term strategy to increase the specialist finance services we can provide to our clients,”an Investec spokesman said.

Sky News first reported the deal. RBS declined to comment.

RBS put around $270 million worth of Channel Island assets up for sale in October in order to comply with new ring-fencing rules that come into force in 2019.

The rules require UK banks to separate retail operations from other riskier businesses.