LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. is poised to unveil the biggest loss in UK banking history after taking a hit of almost 6 billion pounds from the credit crisis, The Sunday Times reported.
The newspaper did not name its sources, but said RBS is expected to reveal on Friday a pretax loss of at least 1 billion pounds for the first six months of the year, with analysts warning it could slide to as much as 1.7 billion pounds in the red.
The loss would be roughly five times higher than the deficit racked up by Barclays Plc. in 1992 at the height of the last recession, the newspaper said.
RBS chairman Sir Tom McKillop is already under pressure from investors after the bank's recent 12 billion pounds rights issue. His chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin also faces shareholder scrutiny.
The figures, due to be released on Friday Aug 8, will cap another terrible week for Britains biggest banks as the credit crisis continues to take its toll.
On Monday Aug 4, HSBC Holdings Plc. is expected to write off almost $7 billion (3.5 billion pounds) in bad debts at its struggling American business for the first six months of the year, the newspaper said. The charge will drag its profits down by about 30 percent to $10 billion, the article continued.
On Thursday Aug 7, Barclays is forecast to reveal a 35 percent drop in interim profits to 2.6 billion pounds as bad debts around the world combine with further losses from its exposure to the credit markets, according to the newspaper.
Some analysts believe Barclays could chalk up another 3 billion pounds of writedowns, in addition to the 1.7 billion pounds it recorded in the first quarter, it added.
The only bright spot will be the results from Standard Chartered Plc. on Tuesday Aug 5. The bank is expected to announce a 21 percent jump in half-time profits to $2.4 billion, according to the article. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomsonreuters.com ml/ak COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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