London  - Britain's ailing Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Friday reported third quarter losses of 1.53 billion pounds (2.54 billion dollars), figures released by the bank showed.

The operating loss was below second quarter losses of 3.53 billion pounds, but so-called bad debts remained high, at 3.28 billion pounds.

The bank, in which the taxpayer has a stake of 84 per cent, was rescued from collapse by the government a year ago.

While it continues to restructure its business, the government earlier this week injected a further 32 billion pounds into the bank.

RBS announced the sale of major assets earlier this week to meet demands of the European Union (EU) competition authorities. (dpa)