RBS profits rise despite tighter margins

26th Oct 2018 07:04

(Sharecast News) - Royal Bank of Scotland increased profits and capital in the third quarter but operating margins continued to be squeezed by competitive pressures.Income swelled 15% year-on-year and 7% quarter-on-quarter to £3.64bn, and for the first nine month of the year is up 2.7% compared with 2017.Attributable profit of £448m in the three months to 30 September was up 14.3% on the same period last year and up almost fivefold from the second quarter of this year.Net interest margin, the difference between a bank's lending and borrowing rates, shrank to 1.93% from 2.01% in the preceding quarter, with 3 basis points related to competitive pressure, 2 basis points due to higher average liquidity balances and the rest one-off items.The strength of the balance sheet was shown with the CET1 ratio rising to 16.7% from 16.6% in the second quarter, reflecting the the attributable profit in the quarter and a further reductions in risk-weighted assets.** More to follow **