Scotland's Two Biggest Banks This Week Chalked Up Gbp13bn in Profits, but Have They Become Money-Making Machines at the Expense of Their Customers? Story of the Week
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Summary
FOR THE best part of three centuries, they have dominated much of Scottish life but been the keenest of rivals. Since 1728, when the Royal Bank of Scotland first challenged the Bank of Scotland by suddenly presenting its rival with large stocks of its own notes for payment, the two great institutions have been locked in dogged competition. This week we saw it again when both banks announced record profits - between them, GBP13bn.
The two financial giants have reached that pinnacle over the past five years by acquiring or merging with competitors. Now they have disgorged the fruits of that strategy. RBS announced pre-tax profits of nearly GBP8bn, an increase of 21-per cent over last year.See the full content of this document
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Scotland's Two Biggest Banks This Week Chalked Up Gbp13bn in Profits, but Have They Become Money-Making Machines at the Expense of Their Customers? Story of the Week
Immediately, shares went up by 2.7-per cent, increasing the value of its stock by GBP1.6bn. A day later, Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) saw GBP1.7bn wiped off its stock market value as shares fell by more than 4-per cent, despite announcing a 17-per cent rise in pre-tax profits to GBP4.8bn.
The difference was largely due to market percep...See the full content of this document
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