Ulster’s bad debts soar to €246m

RBS, 75% owned by the British government, has reported a substantial increase in bad debt charges at its Ulster Bank subsidiary in Ireland for the first quarter of 2009.

Ulster made an operating loss of £91 million (€101m) against a profit of £108m (€120m) in the same period of 2008.

The results for Ireland show bad debts rose sharply, increasing by £180m (€200m) over the period to £221m (€246m).