RBS suffers loss after massive writedown

By Steve Slater and Clara Ferreira-Marques LONDON (Reuters) - A 5.9 billion pound writedown on risky assets sent Royal Bank of Scotland to a first-half loss of 691 million pounds -- better than feared, but still one of the biggest losses in British history. RBS, Britain's second-biggest bank, said on Friday the loss was "a chastening experience" but it was building a comfortable capital cushion and sales of assets were going as planned, although tough financial and economic conditions would continue. Fred Goodwin, RBS chief executive, said the bank was talking to "a number" of potential buyers for its insurance arm, which is valued at 5 to 6 billion pounds, but he was not reliant on a sale to reach higher capital targets. By 10:00 a.m. RBS shares were up 2 percent at 238 pence, one of the top performing stocks, as analysts... [read full story]