Royal Bank of Scotland confirms £8bn loss for 2013

The Royal Bank of Scotland has made an £8.2bn loss in 2013, as it struggled with the burden of regulatory fines and splitting up the business.

In a widely expected set of disappointing results, the bank reported its sixth annual loss since it was rescued by the UK government in 2008. Of the £8bn loss, £3.8bn is attributed to regulatory and redress provisions, while £4.8bn is due to the establishment of RBS Capital Resolution. RBS Capital Resolution is the internal 'bad bank' set up on 1 January to manage a pool of £29bn in high risk assets, aiming to speed up the run-down of these exposures and free up capital for the bank. Meanwhile, operating profit fell 15% from the previous year to £2.5bn. New chief executive Ross ...