COULD the end finally be in sight for embattled Royal Bank of Scotland, that once-great Scottish institution that had to be bailed out and taken into public ownership nearly a decade ago?
It is early days but, if its results for the first half of this year are anything to go by, the answer could well be yes.
A Department of Justice investigation that is likely to result in a multi-billion dollar fine notwithstanding, RBS appears to be finally putting its troubles behind it, with everything from shareholder litigation to the future of its Williams & Glyn arm starting to work out.
That can only mean one thing: the bank can start looking to its future after 10 long years of answering to its paymasters at the UK Treasury.
Its first-half profit figure shows it has taken a tentative step towards achieving that goal and, with most of its legacy issues sorting themselves out, the profitability stands a good chance of proving to be sustainable.
If it does, RBS may well be following rival Lloyds back into private ownership in the foreseeable future.
Yes, short-term profitability is a tricky measure to judge by, and with the DoJ investigation hanging over its head RBS still has some major hurdles to overcome.
But the early indications are that the taxpayer may not, as was once predicted, have to sell its stake in the bank at a loss after all.
It’s just a shame that some of the people who should matter most – the customers and the staff – will have to suffer by way of yet more branch closures and job cuts in order to get there.
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