RBS Scrapes Back Into Black With £9m Profit

Royal Bank of Scotland bounced back with a £257m profit in the second quarter to eke out a marginal surplus for the first half of 2010.

The part-nationalised bank announced profits of £9m for the six months to the end of June compared to a £1bn loss for the same period last year.

The group, which is 83% taxpayer-owned, was helped by a fall in bad debts as it moved from a £248m loss in the first quarter to a £257m profit between April and June.

It also announced that it was on course to meet its UK mortgage and business lending targets.

Chief executive Stephen Hester said the turnaround of the business was on track.

But he added the task of rebuilding RBS was "a marathon, not a sprint" and warned the economic and regulatory environment could delay or inhibit progress

"RBS second-quarter results show that the bank remains on track to meet the far-reaching goals of our five year restructuring plan which commenced last year," Mr Hester said.

"We are making good progress with disposals and overall business restructuring.

"Our customer base is solid and I believe that the future potential of RBS for all its constituencies becomes increasingly visible."

The bank said its gross lending to business had increased to £12.7bn in the second quarter - up 27% on a year ago.

But like other banks reporting this week, it said demand for loans has fallen, with the sum paid back by businesses exceeeding new borrowing by £1.4bn.

Meanwhile it approved 90% of mortgage applications as it lent £3.2bn in March to June, leaving it well placed to hit a full-year target of £8bn.

Source - Yahoo News & Entertainment.