£5bn RBS writedown expected

The Royal Bank of Scotland is bracing itself for a further writedown of at least £5bn on the value of its assets.

RBS is expected to make an announcement to the City in a trading statement this week, but the writedown could be as large as £7bn, The Times reported.

This morning, the bank said that it was considering selling shares at attractive prices to existing shareholders in a rights issue, expected to raise £10bn.

The bank has already announced writedowns of about £1.7bn on the value of its mortgage-backed debt packages, loans to private equity groups and other securities.

Further reading:

RBS braces for £1bn sub-prime hit