Royal Bank of Scotland plans 500 new job cuts

From Reuters:

Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to cut around 500 jobs at its investment banking arm, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The fresh round of job cuts would mean that RBS, part-nationalised during the financial crisis, has shed 27,000 jobs since unveiling a restructuring in early 2009. The company currently has some 160,000 staff.

RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said on Tuesday the bank aimed to reduce costs to less than 50 percent of income, from 56.8 percent in the second quarter. That, alongside a recovery in margins and income growth, will drive a recovery in operating profit, he said.

"We are on a transition to peel back a bunch of things that weakened us," Hester said on a webcast of a presentation he gave at a financial industry conference.

Earlier this month, RBS announced 3,500 job cuts in administration centres across the country.

RBS ended up being 83 percent owned by the British taxpayer after being rescued by the government in October 2008 when its finances were stretched by the credit crisis and its part in the acquisition of Dutch bank ABN AMRO in 2007. RBS was propped up with 20 billion pounds ($32 billion) of taxpayer money.

Public furore over the bailout caused the eventual resignation of then chief executive Fred Goodwin who helped preside over an aggressive acquisition policy that included the takeover of NatWest.