Lloyds and RBS at risk of fresh £33bn loss

Two of the UK's major tax-payer backed banks are facing three years of further writedowns, according to Barclays Capital analysts.

Lloyds will remain loss-making this year, and Barclays Capital estimates it will have to mark down the value of its mortgage portfolio by £5bn over the next three years. RBS faces a futher £1bn of mortgage impairments. The provisions will wipe out half of Lloyds' core equity and about a third of RBS', although the level of retained earnings should ease the blow to some extent. "After £100bn impairments ...