By Max Colchester
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC on Thursday said it swung to a
GBP446 million ($688.6 million) net loss in the first three months
of the year, as the bank was hit by a wave of restructuring and
litigation charges.
The bank, which is 80% owned by the U.K. government, said
revenues fell 14% to GBP4.33 billion compared with the same quarter
last year. RBS's bottom line was hit by GBP1.3 billion of
restructuring and litigation costs as the lender continues to deal
with a slew of legacy issues.
In February the bank said it would accelerate its global retreat
and push ahead with its plans to dismantle large parts of its
investment bank. The bank's plans include exiting corporate and
investment-banking operations in about two dozen locations
including Hong Kong and Australia. This cut back weighed on results
with GBP453 million of restructuring costs.
RBS said it put another GBP334 million aside to cover
settlements over allegations that the bank tried to rig foreign
exchange markets. The lender also upped its provision to cover a
potential settlement over its sale of toxic mortgage backed
securities in the U.S by GBP176 million.
Excluding restructuring, litigation and conduct costs, operating
profit was GBP1.63 billion, up 16% on last year.
Write to Max Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com
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