Full RBS recovery will inevitably take a long time
August 7, 2009 10:17 AM
RBS today reported a pre-tax profit of £15m for the first six months of the year.
Commenting on the news Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said:
"It appears that RBS is now showing some signs of improvement, though following the appalling investment decisions the bank has made in the past, a full recovery will inevitably take a long time.
"What is more critical for the recovery of the economy as a whole is that RBS lends to viable businesses.
"Although RBS's results have benefited from its investment division, there is still a very strong case for a separation between high street banking and investment banking.
"It is highly questionable whether it is in the interest of the taxpayer to have British banks with a lot of their business tied up in global casino operations - we cannot have taxpayers footing the bill when things go wrong."
ENDS
