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| RBS reports £44m quarterly loss | RBS reports £44m quarterly loss |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a pre-tax loss of £44m for the three months to the end of March. | |
| That compares with a profit of £479m for the same period a year earlier. | That compares with a profit of £479m for the same period a year earlier. |
| The bank, which is 70%-owned by the taxpayer, also announced bad debt charges of £2.9bn for the period, and said the outlook was challenging. | The bank, which is 70%-owned by the taxpayer, also announced bad debt charges of £2.9bn for the period, and said the outlook was challenging. |
| RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said he was confident RBS had strong franchises from which it could rebuild shareholder value. | RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said he was confident RBS had strong franchises from which it could rebuild shareholder value. |
| Nevertheless, Mr Hester said: "Some commentators are beginning to talk about economic recovery; we remain cautious and continue to plan and manage our businesses in the full expectation that both 2009 and 2010 will be very tough years for RBS." | |
| Royal Bank of Scotland's results for the first three months of the year are a Jekyll-and-Hyde tale of very good and appallingly bad Robert Peston, BBC business editor Read Robert Peston's blog | |
| RBS added that it had made "good progress" on its strategic plan to get back to "stand-alone strength". | RBS added that it had made "good progress" on its strategic plan to get back to "stand-alone strength". |
| In April, RBS said it was going to cut a further 9,000 jobs worldwide, on top of the 2,700 job losses already announced in the UK this year. | In April, RBS said it was going to cut a further 9,000 jobs worldwide, on top of the 2,700 job losses already announced in the UK this year. |
| Losses attributable to ordinary shareholders - or post-tax losses - amounted to £857m. | |
| In 2008, RBS made a loss of £24.1bn - the largest annual loss in UK corporate history. | In 2008, RBS made a loss of £24.1bn - the largest annual loss in UK corporate history. |
| 'Jekyll and Hyde' | |
| Total income increased 26% to £9.7bn, compared with £7.7bn in the first three months of 2008. That was largely thanks to a strong performance in its investment banking division. | |
| The bank also gained new customers in the first quarter. UK current accounts increased 3% to 12.5m, while savings accounts increased 15% to 9.2m. | |
| BBC business editor Robert Peston called the results a Jekyll-and-Hyde tale of very good and appallingly bad. | |
| He said that the billions in extra revenue were wiped out by losses on loans and investments that have gone bad. |