Greek exposure hurts RBS

5th Aug 2011 07:22

Exposure to Greek government bonds and a charge for mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) sent Royal Bank of Scotland into the red in the second quarter. The part-nationalised bank posted an attributable loss of £897m in the quarter to 30 June, against a profit of £257m in the same period the previous year. It was hit by a £850m charge for PPI claims and £733m provision related to Greek government bonds.RBS also saw a decline in revenues in its global banking and markets business "where weaker client activity across all trading desks and active risk reduction within the business reflected the uncertain market environment." However, it also saw "steady momentum" in the retail and commercial business, with further progress in the US and reduced losses at Ulster Bank.RBS is expected to announce about 2,000 job losses later today.---RG