RBS to reveal a pre-tax loss of £1bn for H1

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will this week unveil the biggest loss in the history of British banking due to a multi-billion-pound hit from the global credit crunch.

RBS, which announces interim earnings on Friday, was predicted to reveal a pre-tax loss of at least £1 billion (Dh7.2bn) for the first six months of the year, The Sunday Times reported.

Analysts also warned Britain's second largest bank could face a loss of £1.7bn, the weekly newspaper added without citing its sources. Strains from the global squeeze on credit would cost RBS almost £6bn, it added.

Earlier this year, RBS clinched a record-breaking rights issue of £12bn to shore up its finances after huge subprime-related write-downs and the mammoth takeover of Dutch giant ABN Amro.

Meanwhile, Britain's biggest bank HSBC will post first-half numbers on Monday, followed by peers Barclays and Standard Chartered.

Investors are on edge about the cost of write-downs caused by the US sub-prime or housing crisis and the subsequent tightening of global lending conditions.

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