Profitable RBS tipped to declare special dividend

Royal Bank of Scotland will move a step closer towards full private ownership this week when it books a second consecutive year of annual profits.

Under chief executive Ross McEwan, RBS drew a line under major misconduct settlements in August. Picture: Ian Rutherford

City analysts forecast that the bank will see bottom-line profits nearly double from £752 million last year to £1.4 billion when it reports on Friday. That would will mark its second year in the black following a decade-long run of hefty losses.

Under chief executive Ross McEwan’s stewardship, the lender drew a line under the last of the major misconduct settlements in August, reaching a $4.9bn (£3.7bn) agreement with US authorities over alleged mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities.

RBS, still 62.4 per cent-taxpayer owned, also recently gained shareholder approval that allows it to buy back up to £1.5bn worth of shares from the Treasury.

Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec, believes that the bank will declare a 10p special dividend alongside its results.