ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

RBS bank gets makeover under new boss

Seeking new customers, Royal Bank of Scotland has launched a new cloud-based digital bank called Bo to directly challenge fintechs.

Antitrust regulators in the European Union acted against many erring banks for alleged currency fraud that involved fixing of spot foreign exchange. The EU slapped a total fine of $1.2 billion on Barclays, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, MUFG and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The former CEO of a software company is suing RBS for allegedly conspiring to push the business into administration to benefit from its sale.

The bank, which is 73 percent state-owned, attributed the $1.4 billion loss to a one-off dividend payment to the U.K. government.

Along with its efforts to cut costs, the state-backed bank also said it was closing branches as more people bank online.

The ailing bank, which is 73 percent owned by the British government, reported its eighth consecutive year of net loss Friday.

The lender’s annual profits are expected to take a massive hit after it set aside funds to cover litigation costs and wrongful sales.

The deal is part of GE's plan to sell off the about $200 billion worth of assets of its finance arm, GE Capital.

Royal Bank of Scotland is winding down its Greek operation and putting its $5 billion shipping loans portfolio up for sale as the group scales back non-core activities, sources said, according to an exclusive Reuters report.

UBS said its settlement includes a $203 million penalty for pleading guilty to allegations it rigged Libor benchmark interest rates.

S&P said it believed the affected banks had sufficient capital buffers to cope with the charges.

The loss compared with an attributable loss of 9 billion pounds ($14 billion) the previous year.

The regulator said it had handed out the fine for "inadequate systems and controls" at the bank.

RBS said in May it will eliminate hundreds of jobs in the United States over the course of two years.