Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Interviewed on Half-Year Results

LONDON, August 5, 2011 -

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has posted first half operating profits of £1871m, up over half a billion pounds on the same time last year,  but its core bank has posted lower profits quarter on quarter due mainly to the sovereign debt crisis, UK economic slowdown and  international economic uncertainty.  

In an interview with online broadcaster www.cantos.com  its Chief Executive Stephen Hester pointed out that both its mortgage and small business lending in the UK had improved but he conceded the overall performance in the core business was mixed not least because of a £733m provision for Greek debt held by its Global Business Markets division and a similar amount to cover its PPI exposure.    

But he said  the  bank had shown resilience in a difficult environment, in spite of reporting an overall loss, and re-iterated that the recovery in the bank’s fortunes would be more akin to a marathon than a sprint describing the outlook as “pretty cloudy” made more difficult by the uncertainty over impending UK financial regulatory reform.

www.cantos.com/company/The+Royal+Bank+of+Scotland+Group.

Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features in-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company executives. If you would like to contact us, please email prnsupport@cantos.com or phone +44-207-936-1352.

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