RBS fails Bank of England stress test

Raising capital: People walking past a RBS office in London. RBS said it needs an extra percentage point of capital – worth around 2bil – which could be achieved by further sales of assets, rather than having to tap markets. – Reuters

LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland must boost its capital buffers after failing this year’s stress test of seven British lenders, the Bank of England said.

The state-backed lender rushed out a statement following the announcement to say it would take a range of actions, including selling off bad loans and cutting costs to make up the capital shortfall identified by the tests of around £2bil (US$2.49bil).