RBS sinks to third-quarter loss on misconduct, restructuring charges

By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland swung to a third-quarter loss on Friday, hit by costs related to past misconduct and restructuring that cast fresh doubts on when the government might begin to recoup more of its 2008 emergency investment.

The Edinburgh-based bank, more than 70 percent owned by the British taxpayer, reported a loss attributable to shareholders of 469 million pounds ($570.7 million), compared with a profit of 940 million pounds boosted by the disposal of U.S. unit Citizens in the same period last year.

The loss was more than twice the 231 million pounds loss estimated by analysts, according to a poll supplied by the bank.

RBS also said it would miss an end-2017 deadline to sell its Williams & Glyn branch network, a condition of its 2008 state rescue."We've said that 2015 and 2016 would be noisy as we work through legacy issues and transform this bank for customers. These results reflect that noise," Chief Executive Ross McEwan said in a statement.

McEwan is in the midst of a vast, multi-year restructuring of the bank, which includes asset sales, job cuts and multi-billion dollar charges to settle litigation and pay fines for historic regulatory breaches.

LOSSES

The losses were partly driven by a fresh 425 million pound misconduct charge and an 82 percent year-on-year rise in third quarter impaired loans to 144 million pounds.

The bank also reported 469 million pounds of additional restructuring costs, largely as a result of its extended struggle to sell Williams & Glyn.

But unlike rivals Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays, RBS did not record any provisions for repaying customers mis-sold payment protection insurance after taking a 450 million pound charge in the last quarter.

The bank reported higher-than-expected total income of 3.3 billion pounds for the three months to the end of September, reflecting efforts to step up lending to maintain its status as Britain's biggest corporate lender.

The bank more than tripled the sum set aside to cover legal costs as it edges closer to a 4 billion pound lawsuit brought by investors who claim they were misled into supporting a cash call just months before its near-collapse in 2008. The case is due to reach court in March.

Meanwhile, the bank continues to wait for what analysts broadly expect to be the biggest regulatory penalty in its history for its role in mis-selling U.S. mortgage bonds.

The bank said it continues to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Justice in its ongoing investigation but gave no guidance on when the issue might be resolved.

RBS, which succumbed to a 45.5 billion-pound state bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, has not made an annual profit since 2007. The government is currently sitting on a 25 billion pound-plus loss on its investment.

($1 = 0.8218 pounds)

(Editing by Sinead Cruise)