By Margot Patrick 

LONDON-- Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC on Thursday posted a GBP3.47 billion ($5.39 billion) net loss for 2014 after writing down the value of part-owned U.S. unit Citizens Financial Group by GBP4 billion.

The 80% state-owned bank said its seventh consecutive loss, narrower than last year's GBP9 billion, was the result of several one-off charges. In addition to revaluing Citizens, RBS had GBP2.2 billion in conduct and litigation charges and GBP1.3 billion in restructuring costs.

"These results make clear that underneath the conduct, litigation and restructuring charges, we have strong performing customer businesses that are geared towards delivering sustainable returns for investors," Chief Executive Ross McEwan said.

RBS has radically scaled back its size and ambitions since it needed a series of government bailouts to survive 2008's financial crisis. Its shares closed at 403 pence Thursday, well below the roughly 455 pence price needed for the government to break even on its investment.

In its effort to shed state ownership and conserve capital, RBS has retreated from overseas operations to focus on U.K. retail and commercial banking. It sold a 29% stake in Citizens last year in an initial public offering and plans to fully exit the bank by the end of 2016.

The bank on Thursday named Howard Davies as its new chairman from Sept. 1, replacing Philip Hampton.

Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com

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