Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Posts Biggest Loss In 6 Years

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported its biggest annual loss since it was rescued by the UK government during the financial crisis in 2008.

The bank's pre-tax loss for 2013 was £8.2bn, compared with £5.2bn in 2012.

Ross McEwan, RBS' newly appointed chief executive, told that the results were "very sobering".

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)also announced it would be restructuring, with an increased focus on retail banking in the UK and lending to small businesses.
Its seven operating divisions will be transformed into just three customer businesses: personal, commercial and corporate.

RBS's cost-to-income ratio currently stands at 73%, but RBS has set a target of getting this down to about 55% by 2017.