RBS suffers first-ever loss

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 history. RBS, the second-biggest bank, said on Friday the loss was "a chastening experience" but it was building a comfortable capital cushion, reducing risk and pushing ahead with sales of assets including its insurance business as planned. "I’m disappointed and numbed by it, but I’m also galvanised," said Chief Executive Fred Goodwin, saying his task was not to let writedowns overshadow some strong performances during tough conditions. By 3:30 p.m. RBS shares were up 3.4 percent at 241 pence, one of the top performing stocks, as analysts said its capital ratio came in higher than... [read full story]