RBS plans first dividend since 2008 bailout

The Royal Bank of Scotland plans to pay a dividend of 2p to shareholders – its first since the 2008 bailout.

The banking group said: “We intend to declare an interim dividend of 2p per ordinary share.

“Declaration of the interim dividend is subject to the timing of finalisation of the previously announced civil settlement in principle with the DoJ (Dept of Justice) in relation to the DoJ’s investigation into RBS’s issuance and underwriting of US RMBS (residential mortgage-backed securities).

“We expect to finalise the settlement with the DoJ and will make a further announcement at the relevant time.”

The bank’s intention to pay its first dividend in a decade comes as it reported a first-half attributable profit of £888m – down 9% on same period last year.

The drop was largely because of its proposed settlement with the DoJ.

The proposed dividend – if paid – would realise a return to shareholders of 2p per share of approx £240m in total – with about two-thirds of that going to government coffers because of the taxpayers’ stake in the bank.

RBS remains more than 70% owned by the taxpayer after its £45bn bail-out by the government during the crisis.

The state-backed lender reported its first annual profit in a decade last year of £752m.

That profit compared to a £7bn loss in 2016, which was the last in a succession of losses going back to the financial crisis, adding up to £58bn.

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(c) Sky News 2018: RBS plans first dividend since 2008 bailout