ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC is within a rising trend. Continued positive development within the trend channel is indicated. The stock has broken up through the resistance at pence 50.00. A further rise to 100p (1) is predicted in the medium term. The stock is assessed as technically positive for the medium long term.

Good luck -

Trading Update

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc ("RBS" or "the Group") will announce its full year results on 27 February 2014, which will reflect the following:

Provisions for litigation and conduct related matters

· The Board of RBS has decided to provide £1.9 billion covering various claims and conduct related matters affecting Group companies, primarily those related to mortgage-backed securities and securities related litigation, following recent third party litigation settlements and regulatory decisions.

· An additional £465 million provision for Payment Protection Insurance redress and related costs. Q4 2013 claims experience has continued at previous rates (c.£225 million per quarter) rather than declining as anticipated and claims are now expected to continue for a longer period. The cumulative provision is £3.1 billion, of which £2.2 billion had been utilised at 31 December 2013. The remaining provision of £0.9 billion covers approximately twelve months of redress and administrative expenses.

· A further £500 million provision for Interest Rate Hedging Products redress and administration costs. The increase in provision reflects both higher volumes and anticipated redress payments, recalibration of our methodology based on experience during Q4 2013, and additional administration charges. The cumulative provision, including expenses, was £1.25 billion at 31 December 2013.

Operating Performance

At its Q3 2013 results, RBS announced its intention to create RBS Capital Resolution, which was established on 1 January 2014. To reflect this new strategy, RBS recognised additional impairments and asset valuation adjustments in Q4 2013. In aggregate these are expected to be in the range of £4.0 to £4.5 billion as previously announced on 1 November 2013.

Non-Core asset reduction was accelerated in Q4 2013. As a result, Third Party Assets at 31 December 2013 were below previous guidance of £35 billion. The cost of this faster de-risking process will be reflected in the division's operating loss for Q4 2013.

Q4 2013 Core operating expenses include c.£200 million of additional provisions for various conduct related and legal expenses, in addition to those detailed above.

As anticipated, Markets performance in Q4 2013 reflected normal seasonal trends.

Capital

As indicated in the capital plan announced with our Q3 2013 results, RBS continues to target a fully loaded Basel III Core Tier 1 ratio of c.11% by the end of 2015 and 12% or above by the end of 2016. The impact of the provisions highlighted above was reflected in our future capital plan, outlined at the Q3 2013 results presentation.

On a reported basis, RBS expects to report a Core Tier 1 ratio of around 11% as at 31 December 2013. On a fully loaded Basel III basis, the Group's equivalent Core Tier 1 ratio is expected to be in the range of 8.1% and 8.5%.

The figures quoted in this statement are preliminary estimates and unaudited. The normal year end results processes are currently underway. The RBS Full Year 2013 Results and Strategy presentation will be held on 27 February 2014 and available to view via webcast at www.investors.rbs.com/financial_result

Breaking News

RBS sets aside £3.1bn for new claims

RBS says it will need to set aside another £3.1bn to settle claims relating to mortgage products, PPI claims and interest rate hedging.

The bank's chief executive, Ross McEwan said: "The scale of the bad decisions during that period [the financial crisis] means that some problems are still just emerging.

RBS also said its executive committee would not receive a bonus for 2013.

Mr McEwan has already said he would not take a bonus.

TT what is the source of this breaking news?

See post 720!!

skin just a breaking repeat then!

Numis Add 338.00 374.00 374.00 Reiterates

Espirito Santo Execution Noble Neutral 338.00 365.00 365.00 Reiterates

Investec Hold 338.00 345.00 345.00 Upgrades

Morgan Stanley Equal weight 338.00 - 323.00 Retains

Citigroup Sell 338.00 290.00 290.00 Reiterates

JP Morgan Cazenove Underweight 338.00 350.00 330.00 Reiterates

Nomura Reduce 338.00 285.00 285.00 Reiterates

Credit Suisse Underperform 338.00 265.00 265.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Sell 338.00 320.00 320.00 Reiterates

Crumbs this lot just get worst don't they?

interesting chart today ....

the only way is up!

RBS to retrench in investment banking, cut 30,000 jobs - FT

(Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to announce its withdrawal from many investment banking activities as well as much of its international business in a move that is expected to reduce staff numbers by at least 30,000 over the next three to five years, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said that the restructuring will be a part of a range of cost-cutting measures and disposals adopted by Ross McEwan, the bank's new chief executive who is looking to revive the fortunes of the partly nationalised lender which was the subject of a 45 billion pound ($75 billion) government rescue in 2008. (link.reuters.com/hyq96v)

RBS, which is 82 percent owned by the British government, declined to comment on the story.

Numis Add 362.95 355.70 374.00 374.00 Reiterates

Final Results - Part 1 of 6

Royal Bank of Scotland posts £8.2bn loss

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported its sixth annual loss since it was rescued by the UK government in 2008.

The bank's pre-tax loss for 2013 was £8.2bn.

However, excluding bad bank and legacy costs, RBS made an operating profit of £2.5bn.

RBS' bonus pool is down to £576m, a drop of 15% on last year, when £679m was paid out.

The bank, which is 81% owned by the UK taxpayer, also set aside regulatory and redress provisions of £3.8m.

It incurred impairments and losses of £4.8bn due to the establishment of a new internal "bad bank", known as RBS Capital Resolution (RCR).

Royal Bank of Scotland secured a landmark deal with the European Union last night which paves the way for it to eventually begin repaying dividends to shareholders. Under the EU ruling, RBS will pay the UK government 320 million pounds in the next 45 days and the remaining 1.18 billion pounds over a period of time, allowing the Treasury's golden share to be retired. - The Scotsman.

RBS plan for 200% bonuses blocked

Royal Bank of Scotland has abandoned attempts to pay bonuses twice the size of salaries after being told the move would not be approved.

UKFI, the body that manages the Treasury's stake in the bank, told RBS it would veto plans for a 2:1 bonus ratio at the next shareholder meeting.

New EU rules mean that the bank has to ask its shareholders for approval of annual bonuses.

RBS said it would now seek to pay up to 100% of base salaries in bonuses.

Espirito Santo Execution Noble Neutral 304.40 320.00 320.00 Reiterates

Deutsche Bank Hold 304.40 315.00 310.00 Upgrades

Citigroup Sell 304.40 270.00 270.00 Reiterates

Oh goodie!

Exclusive - Top investors to file 1 billion pounds legal claims against RBS : sources

(Reuters) - Three of Britain's biggest investors are expected to file lawsuits against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) next week saying they were misled over its 2008 rights issue and seeking to claw back more than 1 billion pounds, people familiar with the matter said.

Legal & General (LGEN.L), which was the biggest investor in RBS at the time of the rights issue, is expected to file a claim, a person close to the insurer said on Friday.

Standard Life (SL.L) and M&G Investment Management, which is owned by Prudential (PRU.L), are also set to file claims, two other sources familiar with the matter said. Those firms were both among the ten biggest investors in RBS.

The claims are expected to be filed in a London court on Wednesday, the sources said.

Interim Management Statement

Key points

Q1 2014 operating performance

● Income was down 2% compared with Q1 2013 at £5,053 million, with deposit repricing and a modest revival in lending volumes during the quarter leading to improvements in UK Retail and UK Corporate. Markets income was seasonally stronger than in Q4 2013 but lower than in Q1 2013, reflecting its smaller balance sheet and reduced risk levels.

● Expenses were 6% lower than in Q1 2013 at £3,190 million, with Markets down 15% and other banking businesses down 3%. Incremental cost savings have been delivered principally from tactical cost control initiatives. The benefits from strategic cost reduction initiatives will feed through in later quarters.

● Impairments were down £671 million from Q1 2013, with significant improvements in Ulster Bank, down 80% and UK Corporate, down 66%. Impairments in RCR totalled £108 million in Q1 2014 whereas Non-Core totalled £433 million in Q1 2013. The quarter benefited from no meaningful single name impairments.

● Risk elements in lending decreased by £2.0 billion to £37.4 billion, as a percentage of loans represented 9.0% (31 December 2013 - 9.4%).


● Operating profit totalled £1,501 million, up from £747 million in Q1 2013, driven by stronger business performance in UK Retail and UK Corporate, together with the turnaround at Ulster Bank, which reported its first quarterly operating profit since 2009.

● Q1 2014 benefited from c.£200 million of Treasury AFS gains and a £191 million profit on the sale of the remaining stake in DLG.

● Profit attributable to shareholders was £1,195 million, compared with £393 million in Q1 2013 and a loss of £8,702 million in Q4 2013.

● Tangible net asset value per ordinary and B share was 376p at 31 March 2014, compared with 363p at 31 December 2013.


Highlights

Balance sheet

● Funded assets were £130 billion lower than in Q1 2013 at £746 billion, principally driven by the reshaping of the Markets balance sheet. Compared with Q4 2013, funded assets were up £7 billion, reflecting a limited pick-up in client driven trading activity in Markets and stronger lending volumes, particularly in UK mortgages.

○ Gross new mortgage lending in Q1 2014 was £4.4 billion in UK Retail, a market share of 9.5%, including more than 4,700 approvals assisting young people and families to buy their first home through the Government's Help to Buy scheme. Net new lending of £1.2 billion took the UK Retail mortgage portfolio to more than £100 billion for the first time.

○ Modest growth resumed in the UK Corporate loan book. SMEs drew down £2.4 billion of new term lending in Q1 2014, up 23% from Q1 2013, with net term lending to trading SMEs turning positive.

○ Total net lending flows reported within the scope of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) were plus £63 million in Q1 2014. The FLS no longer includes household lending flows.

● RWAs on an end-point CRR basis, were down £73 billion from Q1 2013, with approximately a third of the reduction in Markets, principally reflecting the strategic repositioning of this business.

● The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 9.4%(4) at 31 March 2014, compared with 8.6% at the end of 2013. RBS remains well on track to achieve its target CET1 ratio of 11% by the end of 2015 and 12% or above by the end of 2016.

● RCR reduced RWA equivalents by £14 billion during Q1 2014 to £51 billion, with operating losses lower than expected at £114 million.

Building the number one bank for trust and service in the UK

● RBS has made good progress towards developing detailed implementation plans for its new structure, built around three businesses: Personal & Business Banking, Commercial & Private Banking, and Corporate & Institutional Banking.

● Each business is focused on delivering the customer commitments announced on 27 February 2014. In March, RBS stopped offering deals to new customers that are not available to existing customers, including 0% credit card balance transfers and teaser rates on savings accounts.

● After placing 325 business specialists in branches in 2013, a further 40 experienced relationship managers have been allocated to serve our commercial customers, with a central focus on lending.

● By the end of March 2014, pro-active 'Statements of Appetite' had been sent to more than 270,000 SME customers, offering in excess of £10 billion of new or additional funding.

Out of auction +10%.

Just closed a 2day S/B +42p - and still holding long(er) term.

In the middle of the gap.