RBS mid year losses show bank still broken

Commenting on news today (3 August) that RBS has announced a half-year loss of £1.5bn, Friends of the Earth Scotland corporate accountability campaigner Paul Daly said:

“Once again we have seen that business as usual simply doesn’t work when it comes to big banking. Not only has RBS let tax payers down with unsound practices such mis-selling of insurance and very possibly rate-fixing, but it continues to be the biggest UK financier of damaging investments in the fossil fuel industry.  As a tax  payer owned bank, RBS has an even greater responsibility to clean up its act and starting investing our money for the benefit of people and the planet rather than lining bankers pockets.”

ENDS
For media enquiries and a full list of energy and power loans involving RBS, please contact: Per Fischer, Press Office, Friends of the Earth Scotland 
 t: 0131 243 2719

Notes to Editors

Research by Friends of the Earth Scotland published this year reveals that RBS was involved in lending over $100bn to energy and power companies between October 2011 and March 2012, more than half of which was lent to oil and gas corporations. Only 5% went to funding renewable energy projects.Between 2007 and 2009, RBS led the underwriting of more than $7.5bn worth of loans to multinational oil companies mining tar sands in Canada.This is the fourth year running since the government bailed out RBS with over £65bn of taxpayers’ money that the bank has reported losses.Friends of the Earth Scotland is * Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation * An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland * Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 77 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups – covering every continent. www.foe-scotland.org.uk