Royal Bank Of Scotland (RBS) To Cut 3,800 Jobs By End 2013

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (NYSE: RBS), the government-owned British banking giant, on Monday raised its planned job cuts in the investment bank to 3,800 from 3,500, adding to the latest round of industry-wide layoffs.

American depositary receipts of Royal Bank of Scotland fell 1.23 percent, or 14 cents, to $8.77 in Monday midday trading.

The bank, 81 percent owned by the British government after being rescued during the 2008 credit crisis, said in January it would cut 3,500 jobs in its investment banking division.

In slides for an investor presentation being held later Monday, RBS said it has revised the target to shrink the bank's headcount by the end of next year. About 3,000 of the cuts will have completed by the end of this year.

RBS has already slashed more than 34,000 jobs since falling into part state-ownership in 2008. It had about 143,000 employees worldwide as of June 30.

The announcement from RBS comes just days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), the second largest U.S. bank, is accelerating a broad cost-cutting plan and set a target of shedding 16,000 jobs by the end of 2012 -- cuts that would leave the bank with its thinnest workforce since 2008.

RBS’s net loss for the first half of 2012 surged 39 percent, as the bank set aside funds to cover fallout from regulatory violations and a software debacle.

The bank reported its net loss of £1.99 billion ($3.23 billion) widened from £1.43 billion a year earlier. Revenue in the first six months of the year fell to £11.26 billion from £15.29 billion the year before, as the bank continued to cut its balance sheet in an attempt to return to profitability.

RBS lost 5,700 staff during the first half of this year, principally in investment banking, as the lender attempts to become more retail-focused.