Bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland is set to clock up a decade of losses as bosses await a multi-billion pound fine from the US Department of Justice.
Bosses at the NatWest owner also suggested its punishing programme of branch closures will continue far into the future.
RBS has not made an annual profit since before the financial crisis in 2008 when it came within hours of completely running out of cash.
Bad sign: RBS has not made an annual profit since before the financial crisis in 2008
The bank was bailed out with £46bn from taxpayers’ money, which is not expected to be returned in full. It made a £1.3bn profit in the first nine months of this year.
But this is expected to be wiped out this year by a penalty in the US for mis-selling bundles of toxic mortgage debt during the financial crisis.
RBS has been waiting for years to find out how much the DoJ wants it to pay, a problem compounded by the fact that President Trump left many posts in the department unfilled for months.
At worst the fine could be more than £10bn but it will draw a line under past misdeeds and could prompt the Treasury to start selling its stake.