Royal Bank of Scotland reported a loss of £153m in H1, although underlying operating profit excluding legal and restructuring costs was up 2% at £3.45bn.
Chief executive Ross McEwan said the bank’s position had improved and he welcomed the decision by the government to start reducing its stake in RBS.
A sharp rise in mortgage lending was behind a more than 25% increase in attributable profit in Q2.
A sale of shares in the bank could come within a matter of days, and could mean a loss for taxpayers, with the current share price around £1.50 below the price the government paid in its bailout of RBS. The plan is said to be to sell a 6% stake worth some £2.5bn.
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The Daily Telegraph, p. 29
The Guardian, p. 27
The Independent, p. 58
