Ulster Bank losses soar to €1.7bn

Ulster Bank made an operating loss of £1.457bn (€1.7bn) in 2013 compared with £1.040bn the previous year, as the company accelerated the transfer of its non-core assets to its bad bank.

According to Ulster Bank’s chief executive, Jim Brown, the bank will show a post-provision profit in 2014 — the first since 2008.

As part of a group-wide restructuring, its parent Royal Bank of Scotland set up a bad bank, known as RBS Capital Resolution (RCR). It took an additional charge of £911m as it expedited, “the resolution of underperforming, capital-intensive assets and allow Ulster Bank to focus on building a stronger core business for its future”.