RBS shares opened lower after it was the worst performer in Bank of England stress tests
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) became one of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 this morning, with shares opening 2.3 per cent lower at 192.5p, after it was revealed as the worst performer in the Bank of England's stress tests.
Having dipped almost three per cent yesterday, shares in RBS fell further this morning after the results of stress tests published by the Bank of England this morning showed the lender had failed on all of the key measures, making it the worst performer among the UK's major lenders.
The bank will now have to draw up a capital plan, which will be monitored by the Bank's prudential regulation authority.
Other lenders were less affected – among the so-called big four, HSBC shares opened 0.2 per cent higher, at 633.2p, while Barclays, which failed on one measure, rose 0.14 per cent to 214.5p. Lloyds jumped 1.3 per cent to 58.4p.
However, Standard Chartered, which met all its hurdle rates but failed to reach the minimum capital requirement, fell 0.9 per cent to 625.9p.
Shares in the UK's major lenders fell almost universally yesterday as investors steeled themselves for unpleasant results.
Institutions were tested on, among other things, their ability to survive if oil prices sank to $20 per barrel, how they would react if unemployment jumped 4.5 percentage points and whether they could handle house prices crashing 31 per cent.
Read more: Here's what you need to know about the Bank of England's stress tests