Highlights
Q3 2014 attributable profit was £896 million, up from £230 million in Q2 2014 and a loss of £828 million in Q3 2013. Profit before tax was £1,270 million compared with £1,010 million in Q2 2014 and a loss of £634 million in Q3 2013.
The quarter included net impairment provision releases of £801 million, principally in Ulster Bank and RBS Capital Resolution, and litigation and conduct costs of £780 million.
RBS continues to make excellent progress in building its capital ratios. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio has strengthened 220 basis points since the year end and 70 basis points in the quarter to 10.8%.
Capital build was supported by further excellent progress in the nine months to 30 September in de-risking the balance sheet, including:
• Further disposals and run-off in RCR, with funded assets down £11 billion.
• A 16% reduction in RWAs in Corporate & Institutional Banking, including running down our US- backed product franchise.
• The sale of €9 billion of securities in the RBS N.V. liquidity portfolio.
Personal & Business Banking continued to perform strongly with income growth of 3% in the quarter. Operating profit in Q3 2014 was £881 million, up 66% on Q2 2014.
Commercial & Private Banking had an improved performance with income up 1% compared with Q2 2014. Operating profit in Q3 2014 was £471 million, up 23% on Q2 2014.
Corporate & Institutional Banking had a weak quarter with an operating loss of £557 million which reflected litigation and conduct costs of £562 million, including £400 million relating to potential costs following investigations into the foreign exchange market, and significantly lower income.
Further progress has been made on improving efficiency, with adjusted operating expenses down 5% over the quarter. RBS remains on track to deliver its £1 billion operating cost reduction target for 2014, at constant foreign exchange rates.
The quarter saw RBS achieve the largest ever IPO of a US bank, listing 28.75% of Citizens Financial Group. We continue to target an IPO of Williams & Glyn towards the end of 2016.
RBS confirms it will retain Ulster Bank following completion of the strategic review. Ulster Bank remains a core part of RBS, offering a good strategic fit with our focused retail and commercial banking strategy. We have a good market position and believe that Ulster Bank can deliver attractive returns, with appropriate investment.
