RBS Profit Triples To £792m In Q1

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has posted a profit £792m in the first fiscal quarter of this year, which was triple compared to the £259m during the same period last year.

The bank reported a 2.8% increase in income, 2.1% reduction in costs, helping to post a 4.9% improvement in operating leverage compared with the first quarter in 2017.

RBS’ income surged by £90m or 2.8% in this quarter compared to the first quarter of 2017.

Income in Q1 increased by £245m compared to the fourth quarter of 2017.

The bank’s operating costs slashed by £442m or 18% compared to the first quarter of 2017, while costs reduced by £39m or 2.1%.

RBS noted that 5.75 million customers are regularly using the bank’s mobile app, which is 21% higher than the first quarter of 2017 and 5% higher than fourth quarter of the same year.

The bank has reported a 55% of personal unsecured loans sales through the digital channel, which is 39% higher than the same quarter in 2017.

Business banking digital current account openings of the bank remained at 82%, which is 59% higher than the same quarter in the last year.

RBS branch counter transactions have been decreased by 7%, compared with the same quarter in 2017, while ATM transactions and cheque usage were slashed by 17% each in the current quarter.

RBS CEO Ross McEwan said: “In the first three months of 2018, we made a pre-tax profit of £1.2 billion. This contributed to a bottom line profit in the period of £792 million, exceeding the full year 2017 profit we reported back in February.

“This is a good set of results showing the progress we are making, despite a more competitive market.

“Income is up, costs are down and we’ve maintained capital strength.”

Image: RBS has reported a profit £792m in the first fiscal quarter of 2018. Photo: courtesy of Royal Bank of Scotland.