RBS set for biggest ever loss

Royal Bank of Scotland today said it expected losses of between £7bn (€7.8bn) and £8bn (€8.9bn) for 2008, prior to any write-downs on the value of its acquisition of ABN Amro.

Royal Bank of Scotland was today on course for the biggest loss in UK corporate history after revealing it expected to write down as much as £20bn (€22.1bn) on the falling value of its assets.

RBS said a review of past acquisitions, most notably its share of Dutch bank ABN Amro, would result in a hit of between £15bn (€16.5bn) and £20bn (€22.1bn).