Partner Article

RBS ready for privatisation in a year

RBS chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, says the bank is ready to privatise within a year.

As RBS announced a return to profit of £826m, the first recorded profit in three years.

The bank made profit on international banking, while its UK retail and corporate operations continued to diminish.

Stephen Hester, Group chief executive, said: “These results show pleasing progress in delivering a strong and valuable RBS for all our stakeholders. We expect to substantially complete the Bank’s restructuring phase during 2014.

“We are seeing the start of a pick-up in loan demand and have a strong surplus of funds ready and available to fully support economic recovery. Across the Group we are working hard to improve what we do for customers and to better position the Bank for future growth.”

RBS also revealed a small rise in lending to UK businesses at £13.2bn, £7.8bn of which was to SME customers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .