Royal Bank of Scotland set to post better trading figures
This Friday will see first-quarter results from Royal Bank of Scotland which are expected to show a significant improvement in trading and profitability at the group. Despite the fact the group is expected to report a first-quarter loss of around £100 million this compares favourably to a loss of £1.9 billion for the whole of last year. At the same time we are likely to hear of better trading in the short-term and an improvement in prospects for the future.
Only days ago there were rumours that Royal Bank of Scotland was potentially looking to buy back part of the £45 billion investment by the UK government in the recent bailout package. However, these rumours were quickly quashed by the company amid concerns that it was too much too early, especially with UK taxpayers still struggling to make ends meet.
Despite the fact that Royal Bank of Scotland is likely to play down the improvement in trading and improvement in profitability, at least in the short-term, there is a growing belief that UK taxpayers could actually make a profit on their significant bailout investment in the company. How ironic would this be if Gordon Brown was to lose office yet only months after see the next government take all of the glory from his investments in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank?
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