THE Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed a 37 per cent rise in pre-tax profits and a confident update on trading. The Edinburgh operation, which acquired National Westminster Bank in March of last year, said all of its businesses were performing well. Profits before tax and one-off costs in the six months to June 30 reached £2.75bn, compared with £2.01bn a year earlier.

The figures include a 14 per cent increase in income to £6.82bn, with operating expenses down one per cent to £3.28bn.