RBSI boss Geddes: 'We've turned the corner'

RBSI chief executive Paul Geddes has declared that the business has turned a corner, after a much improved fourth-quarter performance.

Operating loss shrank to £9m, compared to £33m in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was also when the winter big freeze hit, costing RBSI, owner of Direct Line, Churchill and NIG, around £100m in losses.

Hard work is paying off

Geddes said: "We are starting to see the progress we are making from all the hard work and the investment, so we’re seeing benefits of that come through in the results. There's lots still do - and we can do even better than that - but it’s a turning point quarter for us."

Geddes hinted that RBSI was not in a rush to pump up household rates, despite rivals promising to push through increases following the big freeze.

Just one-offs?

Geddes said: "We are treating two instances as one-off, hence we’ve put them through as adjustments. There is a debate there on whether there’s a trend, and those are the questions we’re asking - we haven’t come to a conclusion on that.

"We obviously remain competitive and overall we still see a profitable business for us - one that we are seeking to grow in and remain competitive in."

See also, RBS revealed a 295m loss in 2010