Crisis-stricken Royal Bank of Scotland, parent of RBS Citizens Bank, which has 51 branches in Connecticut, took fresh help from the British government today and announced that its losses for last year could reach $41.3 billion — the biggest ever for a British corporation.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who separately announced a new round of bailouts for Britain’s troubled banks, scolded RBS for what he said was irresponsible risk-taking on mortgage-related securities in the United States and the expensive takeover of the Dutch bank ABN Amro.
The bank said it expected to mark down the value of past acquisitions including the ABN Amro deal by 15 billion to 20 billion pounds, plus posting other losses up to 8 billion pounds after a dismal fourth quarter.
The largest full-year loss previously reported by a British corporation was 15 billion pounds, by Vodafone in 2006. (AP)
