RBS to repay last of £163bn emergency loan

Nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to repay the final tranche of the £163bn in emergency loans it took from the UK government, and will resume paying dividends on its preference shares.

RBS reported a pre-tax operating loss of £1.4bn in the first three months of the year, most of which was due to changes in the valuation of the bank’s debt. Group operating profit was higher at £1.184bn, compared with a loss of £144m in the previous quarter and a profit of £1.133bn in the first quarter of 2011. Core operating profit rose 46% from the previous quarter to £1.667bn, with Retail & Commercial businesses delivering £903m, down 13%, while the Markets arm recovered to a profit of £824m, compared with a loss of £109m in the prior quarter. Non-core losses were £483m, compare...