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RBS reports largest post-bailout profits

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

July 25, 2014 | 3 min read

The Royal bank of Scotland has seen its largest first-half profits since the 2008 government bailout but officials warn of a bumpy road ahead.

Many wonder when Osborne will sell on the taxpayer shares

The bank report has reported a pre-tax profit of £2.56bn in the first half, up from £1.37bn last year, after it had to set aside considerably less than anticipated for bad loans, down to £269m from £2.15bn.

The Edinburgh-based bank only set aside £150m for payment protection insurance claims and £100m for other grievances.

This comes after the firm announced it will invest over £1bn to modernise its digital banking, last month.

RBS, which is 81 per cent owned by the taxpayer, saw shares rise 14 per cent after it released its results a week early to show better than expected figures.

Ross McEwan, chief executive of RBS, said: "We are actively managing down a slate of significant legacy issues. This includes significant conduct and litigation issues that will likely hit our profits going forward.

"I am pleased we have had two good quarters but no one should get ahead of themselves here – there are bumps in the road ahead of us."

He added: "These results show that the steady progress we are making as we take the steps to a much simpler, smaller and fairer bank.”

RBS’s share price is still well below the 500p average it was at before the taxpayer bailed it out with £45bn.

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