RBS on verge of Libor probe deal

ROYAL Bank of Scotland is poised to agree a settlement within two months with UK and US regulators probing its role in the Libor-rigging scandal, according to sources.

Barclays has already been fined £290 million, but RBS yesterday repeated that it was impossible to gauge the possible impact of the investigations on the group “including the timing and amount of fines or settlements”. Chief executive Stephen Hester conceded earlier this month that he expected a penalty.

Treasury committee member John Mann yesterday told a newspaper that “City insiders” had informed him that RBS faced a bigger fine than Barclays. The Financial Services Authority declined to comment.