Britain's ailing RBS to cut up to 9,000 jobs

LONDON: The Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut up to 9,000 jobs over the next two years, half of them in Britain, the state-controlled British lender said on Tuesday.

"We have set a new strategy for RBS to restore the bank to standalone strength as soon as practicable. From this we want the government to be able to realise value from its investment in RBS," said chief executive Stephen Hester.

"To do so we need to cut our costs, as in all businesses, given the current recession. Unfortunately that means taking difficult decisions about jobs as well as taking many other cost reduction actions."