Ed Sheeran weaves Persian music into new song, Azizam    Rain expected in Makkah and Jeddah on Saturday    Al-Jadaan: Crown Prince's directives confirm government's ability to bring back balance to real estate market    China retaliates against Trump's trade war with 34% reciprocal tariffs on US goods    Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli escalation, targeting of civilians and Saudi warehouse in Gaza    Danish PM dismisses US desire to annex Greenland 'You cannot annex another country'    Macron lashes out against Trump's 'brutal' tariffs, calls for a pause in investment    Saudi Crown Prince, Iranian president discuss regional developments in Eid phone call    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    New Laws of Commercial Registration and Trade Names take effect on Thursday    New fleet of 76 public transport buses starts operation in Jeddah on Tuesday Environmentally friendly electric buses introduced for first time    Foreign investors are allowed to engage in real estate business outside Makkah and Madinah Commercial speculation should not be the purpose of real estate transaction    Aubameyang fires Al Qadsiah into King's Cup final with stoppage-time winner over Al Raed    Cristiano Ronaldo joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves    Musk's X is suing India, as Tesla and Starlink plan entry    Tesla sales plunge after backlash against Elon Musk    Swedish table tennis legend Jörgen Persson appointed head coach of Saudi national team    Danilo Pereira fires Al Ittihad into King's Cup final with dramatic stoppage-time double    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



RBS recovery undermined by Irish losses
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 24 - 02 - 2011

Awwal 21, 1432 H/Feb 24, 2011, SPA -- Royal Bank of Scotland's high bad debt charges in Ireland and a weak investment banking performance overshadowed the bank's return to profit in the final months of 2010, according to Reuters.
RBS, bailed out with billions of pounds of taxpayers' money during the credit crisis, posted an overall loss of 1.1 billion pounds in 2010, largely driven by losses at its Ulster Bank arm.
The bank scraped back into a slight profit in the final months of 2010 but impairment losses during the fourth quarter rose to 930 million pounds from 782 million the previous quarter.
Investors were also disappointed by a drop in profits at RBS' lucrative investment banking arm.
"The situation in Ireland has had a painful effect on the bank's numbers however, whilst in line with many of its global peers the investment banking arm has failed to inspire," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.
RBS shares were down 2.2 percent at 46.3 pence by 0850 GMT, which means the British taxpayer is sitting on a loss of nearly 3 billion pounds.
The government bought its stake at an average price of around 50 pence.
"The market is taking risk off the table, and banks are still risky," said Brown Shipley fund manager John Smith.
Both RBS and British rival Lloyds, which reports results on Friday, were bailed out by Britain during the 2008 credit crisis, which left the government with an 83 percent stake in RBS and a 41 percent stake in Lloyds.
NEGATIVE EFFECT
Britain eventually plans to sell those stakes but RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester told reporters a sale was unlikely before the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) - set up to examine a potential break-up of the UK's top lenders -- publishes its final report in September.
On Thursday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said that Qatar was open to buying stakes in both RBS and Lloyds. Hester said this matter was one for the British government to comment upon.
As a result of its government bailout, RBS was ordered by European regulators to dispose of a range of assets by 2013, including its insurance division.
RBS said that preparations for the sale of its insurance arm were continuing, and that its overall restructuring programme was progressing well.
But RBS CEO Hester said that political pressure on banks, such as calls by top ministers to curb pay and bonuses, was having a negative effect.
"It's a tough thing for us, it can feel pretty beleaguered working at RBS with external and internal pressures, that's one of the handicaps we work with," Hester told reporters on a conference call, saying the bank could "sometimes be a political football". ($1=.6165 Pound)


Clic here to read the story from its source.