RBS sets aside £334m to settle charges with US authorities for manipulating global currency markets

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has set aside a further 334 million pounds ($515 million) to settle with US authorities after they investigated several banks for alleged foreign exchange manipulation.

The bank has set aside £176m for legal costs and £100m in extra PPI charges. The bank said that operating expenses would total £856 million of litigation and conduct charges. It also included charges related to mortgage- backed securities and investigations in the United States.

RBS is in advanced discussions over the settlement and expected that it would settle before the end of June.

Last November, the bank was fined $634 million by British and US regulators. It is one of six institutions which paid out a combined $4.3 billion for failing to stop traders trying to manipulate currency markets.

The bank also reported a net loss of £446 million ($687 million) in the first quarter of 2015. The net loss was sharply lower than the £1.6 billion profit the bank reported for the same period last year.

The loss was caused by £856 million which was paid by the bank for conduct and litigation charges during the quarter. The bank also paid £453 million for restructuring costs.

Shares of RBS slipped 2% during the morning session on Thursday. Analysts at Citi said the results were broadly aligned with consensus, except revenues, which were 4% lower than the revenues predicted by the bank.

RBS has announced a new strategic direction with the aim of building a bank that earns its customers' trust after the financial crisis and a series of misconduct investigations.

During the financial crash of 2008, the bank had to be bailed out. The bank said, "RBS has continued to make good progress on its transformation plan, with further steps taken to improve resilience and simplicity in the bank's structures and systems".