RBS shares dive as H1 results reveal £1.4bn loss

Royal Bank of Scotland has blamed the European crisis and PPI claims for £1.4bn losses in the first half of 2011.

The bank, which is 84% owned by the UK government, has allocated £733m for its exposure to Greek government bonds and £850m to cover claims for the mis-selling of PPI. In the second quarter RBS recorded a pre-tax loss of £678m compared with a loss of £528m in Q1 2011 and a profit of £257 million in Q2 2010. Operating profits were down down £818m in the second quarter, 22% less than Q1 but for the half year operating profit was £1.9bn an improvement on £1.1bn in the first six months of 2010. Despite the grim results Stephen Hester, group chief executive, said the results showed the ...