RBS pumps €500m into Ulster Bank

ULSTER Bank has received a fourth capital injection inside eight months, with its parent the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) pumping a further €500m into the bank.

The investment brings to €1.6 billion the amount of extra capital RBS has injected into Ulster Bank this year – its ongoing actions a direct response to Ulster Bank’s losses on bad loans.

Ulster Bank has already said that it sees its loan losses rising further and that about 0.8% of its total €58.7bn loan book was impaired as of the end of last June, up from 0.1% at the same time last year.

The latest RBS investment was made at the end of August and followed a €280m investment made in July.

Previous top-up capital injections were made in June and February.

“Ulster Bank confirms that it has received €500m in additional capital as part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s ongoing capital management,” Ulster Bank said yesterday in a statement. “It highlights the group’s commitment to Ireland and its ongoing support and investment in Ulster Bank.

“Ulster Bank has already taken significant steps to adapt its business to the environment in which we now operate. We continue to do good business and support our customers through this difficult time,” the statement said.