Government ‘closer’ to selling RBS stake
ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported a sharp rise in pre-tax losses after being hit by a series of charges.
The bank, which employs around 5,500 in the North West with the majority in Manchester, made a pre-tax loss of £5.17bn compared to £766m last time.
However, it made an operating profit of £3.5bn, up from £1.8bn, and the highest since the 2008 bailout.
Chairman Philip Hampton: “It is much closer now to being in the good financial health that would allow shareholders to receive a dividend and the government to start to sell its stake.”
It is the fifth annual loss for the group since the bailout which left the government with an 82% stake. Most of this was down to a £4.6bn accounting charge for losses on the value of its own debt.
It said it had also set aside a further £450m to compensate customers mis-sold insurance on loans and mortgages taking its total provision to £2.2bn. A further £700m has been allocated to compensate small businesses mis-sold complex interest rate hedging products.
