Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 70% owned by the taxpayer, has predicted it will make no substantial recovery until 2011 after posting a £1bn net loss for the first half of 2009.
The loss, totaling £1.042bn, comes after tax and payments to the Government in exchange for bailing it out. It overshadowed the £15m pre-tax profit the bank made in H1, with investors deserting the company in early trading on the FTSE. RBS shares sank 15% to 45.15p by 10.30am. Chief executive Stephen Hester describes the results as "poor" and forecasts two more years of pain before shareholders see any substantial improvements in the bank's performance against a tough economic backdrop. But he is optimistic for the future of RBS and positive the UK Government will be able to ful...
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