Scottish Business Briefing - December 12th 2013 The Royal Bank of Scotland last night agreed to pay £61 million ($100m) to authorities in the United States following an investigation into alleged illegal transactions with Iran, Sudan, Burma and Cuba.The bank has entered into agreements with the US Federal Reserve, the US Treasury Department and the New York State Department of Financial Services which will see it pay the amount to settle the sanctions-busting allegations with American authorities. Swinney caps business rates rise at 2 per cent Families hit by fracking should be fully compensated, urges expert PEOPLE whose homes and land are affected by unconventional gas developments such as fracking should be fully compensated for the value lost on their properties, a leading energy economist has claimed. Speaking at a Scotsman conference examining the shale gas revolution, Professor Gordon Hughes of Edinburgh University claimed the planning system is weighted in favour of developers rather than those affected. The East Kilbride-based firm - which lists department store chain Debenhams among its clients - will also launch its Christmas collection, modelled by Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato. Architects hand control of firm to employees A Scottish architecture practice that has worked on prestige projects like the masterplan for the enlarged Glasgow Caledonian University has become employee-owned ahead of a push for growth in the UK and Europe. David Page and Brian Park have sold their eponymous practice to an Employee Benefit Trust. The sale has allowed the practice's 40 employees to acquire a stake in the future of the business, founded in 1981.