The bank reported a 2.8% increase in income, 2.1% reduction in costs, helping to post a 4.9% improvement in operating leverage compared with the first quarter in 2017.
RBS’ income surged by £90m or 2.8% in this quarter compared to the first quarter of 2017.
Income in Q1 increased by £245m compared to the fourth quarter of 2017.
The bank’s operating costs slashed by £442m or 18% compared to the first quarter of 2017, while costs reduced by £39m or 2.1%.
RBS noted that 5.75 million customers are regularly using the bank’s mobile app, which is 21% higher than the first quarter of 2017 and 5% higher than fourth quarter of the same year.
The bank has reported a 55% of personal unsecured loans sales through the digital channel, which is 39% higher than the same quarter in 2017.
Business banking digital current account openings of the bank remained at 82%, which is 59% higher than the same quarter in the last year.
RBS branch counter transactions have been decreased by 7%, compared with the same quarter in 2017, while ATM transactions and cheque usage were slashed by 17% each in the current quarter.
RBS CEO Ross McEwan said: “In the first three months of 2018, we made a pre-tax profit of £1.2 billion. This contributed to a bottom line profit in the period of £792 million, exceeding the full year 2017 profit we reported back in February.
“This is a good set of results showing the progress we are making, despite a more competitive market.
“Income is up, costs are down and we’ve maintained capital strength.”
Image: RBS has reported a profit £792m in the first fiscal quarter of 2018. Photo: courtesy of Royal Bank of Scotland.
