RBS in £2 billion return to profit

Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland has reported a return to profit in the third quarter as it slashed its bad debts and offset a plunge in income at its under-pressure investment arm.

The taxpayer-backed bank saw shares rise more than 5% or 1.1p to 23.9p after it posted pre-tax profits of £2 billion in the three months to September 30, compared to a 3678 million loss in the previous quarter.