RBS upbeat on its recovery

The state-backed British lender Royal Bank of Scotland says it is on the path to recovery after a better-than-expected quarterly profit of the equivalent of 1.48 billion euros.

The bank – which is 82 percent owned by UK taxpayers – said the government has “no desire” to start selling its stake at current depressed prices.

There were recent reports about a possible sale of shares to Abu Dhabi.

“As far as I am aware there is no desire to sell at current share prices and I find that entirely understandable,” RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester said. “While everyone is focused on that being the desired end-game, I’m not aware of anything that’s imminent.”

RBS is midway through the biggest shrinkage of any bank in the world, and said it has removed 175 billion pounds (215 billion euros) of its “non-core” assets in the last three years, including 11 billion pounds (13.5 billion euros) in the first quarter.

“Excellent progress continues in removing mistakes of the past,” Hester said.

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