The results were hit by a £4bn writedown on the sale of its US business and tax charges. However, gross mortgage lending at the bank grew 37% year-on-year to £19.7bn, which it says it due to the additional recruitment of mortgage advisers, up 18% from 630 to 744. It reported that 15,000 buyers bought their first home with an RBS mortgage through the Help to Buy scheme since 2013.
The bank's chief executive Ross McEwan confirmed he would not receive a bonus this year, although RBS will still pay out bonuses from a pool of £421m.
Chief executive Ross McEwan said: "Last year we identified the areas we needed to improve in order to deliver our strategy - cost, complexity, capital and trust from our customers. The energy and resolve of our people have resulted in significant progress on each, and we have delivered on the goals we set for 2014."
