RBS lurches back to a loss

Royal Bank of Scotland posted a £1.38bn loss before tax for the third quarter of 2010, marking a sharp reversal from second quarter pre-tax profits of £1.16bn. Much of the loss comes from impairment losses and fair value of own debt, with impairment charges concentrated in RBS’s retail divisions. The bank also booked a £825m fair value loss relating to the Bank of England’s Asset Protection Scheme.