RBS Reports Wider First-Quarter Loss
April 29 2016 - 3:00AM
Dow Jones News
LONDON—Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC on Friday reported a
large increase in its first-quarter net loss, following hefty
restructuring charges and a one-off payment to the U.K.
government.
RBS reported a net loss of £ 968 million ($1.41 billion) for the
period, up from £ 459 million the year before. Revenue dropped 13%
to £ 3 billion as RBS wound down its investment bank and sold off
its U.S business.
The bottom line was hit by £ 1.2 billion payment to the U.K.
government, which grants RBS the right to resume dividend payments
to ordinary shareholders. The so-called Dividend Access Share was
put in place in 2009 as part of the 73% state-owned bank's
bailout.
The bank said it expects personal and corporate banking division
income to remain broadly stable in 2016. Investment banking revenue
is set to decline as heavy restructuring continues. Restructuring
costs were £ 238 million in the quarter, down 47%, compared with
the same quarter in 2015. Litigation costs were also much
lower.
On Thursday the bank said it may struggle to meet a regulatory
deadline to split out several hundred bank branches, raising fears
over when the bank would resume its dividend and be privatized.
Following its 2008 government bailout RBS is required under
European Union state aid rules to spin off 314 branches. These have
been regrouped under the brand Williams & Glyn and need to be
disposed of by the end of 2017.
Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2016 02:45 ET (06:45 GMT)
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