RBS Slips To £446m Loss After £1.3bn Charge

Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) (RBS) slipped to a loss of £446m in its first quarter as it booked new restructuring and misconduct charges.

The taxpayer-backed bank said the pressure on its bottom line included £334m it had set aside for settlements related to the global investigation into the rigging of foreign exchange markets.

The figure is on top of the £399m it has already handed to US and UK regulators over the forex scandal.

There was another £100m charge announced in the first quarter results to cover compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).

The total litigation and conduct charge it announced was £856m while restructuring costs came in at £453m.

The restructuring costs mainly relate to a write-down in the value of US premises.

The bank's core business made an operating profit during the quarter of £1.63bn, up 16% on the same quarter last year, saying it benefited from "generally benign credit conditions".

It announced its results 24-hours after Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) added £800m to its provisions covering the forex inquiry.

First (Other OTC: FSTC - news) quarter profits fell 26%, reflecting that charge.