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RBS reports £2bn loss in 2011, fourth since bailout RBS reports £2bn loss in 2011, fourth since bailout
(40 minutes later)
The Royal Bank of Scotland has reported its fourth year of losses since the bank's bailout in 2008.The Royal Bank of Scotland has reported its fourth year of losses since the bank's bailout in 2008.
The bank posted an attributable loss of £2bn in 2011, up from a loss of £1.1bn in 2010.The bank posted an attributable loss of £2bn in 2011, up from a loss of £1.1bn in 2010.
RBS' investment bankers will share a bonus pool of £390m, less than half the amount awarded last year. In reaction to the annual results, Chancellor George Osborne said RBS is "cleaning up the mess after the biggest bank bailout in history".
It comes after chief executive Stephen Hester turned down his bonus, worth nearly £1m, following political pressure. Last month chief executive Stephen Hester turned down his bonus of nearly £1m following political pressure.
RBS is 82% owned by the state after its £45.5bn bailout in late 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. "We all understand that a company that is making losses at the bottom line tests the patience of those who depend on it," he said in the results.
Last year, the company's share price fell 48% to about 27 pence.
RBS is 82% owned by the state after its £45.5bn bailout in late 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, when it posted the biggest annual loss in UK corporate history.
Pay row
For 2011, RBS said its investment bankers will share a bonus pool of £390m, less than half the amount awarded last year.
"I understand people's anger and anxiety about inequalities in pay at a time when the economy is weak and many people are finding things tough," Mr Hester said.
"RBS alone cannot fix these wider issues if we are to achieve what is asked of us commercially. But we have led the way in changing how we pay our people.
The chancellor supported the bank's action on pay.
"We have made clear that RBS should be a backmarker in the industry when it comes to pay, so it's right that bonuses at the investment bank are less than half what they were last year and less than a third of what they were in 2009," said Mr Osborne.
RBS has been selling off its "non-core assets" to revive its profitability.
The balance sheet has been reduced by more than £700bn from the peak of the crisis, it said.
The bank also said it had given more than 40 pence in every £1 lent to UK small and medium-sized businesses, which is more than was demanded by government targets, and provided 4,000 business loans each week on average.
Mr Hester was appointed chief executive at the end of 2008 to replace Fred Goodwin, who was recently stripped of his knighthood over the collapse of the bank.Mr Hester was appointed chief executive at the end of 2008 to replace Fred Goodwin, who was recently stripped of his knighthood over the collapse of the bank.
RBS' chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, has given up £1.4m worth of shares he was due next month. RBS' chairman, Sir Philip Hampton, also gave up £1.4m worth of shares he was due next month.
Analysts say that Mr Hester has been reorganising RBS and selling off its "non-core assets" to revive its profitability.