The Royal Bank of Scotland is in the news today as they announced they have put aside £125m to pay compensation to customers affected by the recent two week computer breakdown.

They released the compensation figure as it reported a half-year loss of £1.5bn, compared with £794m a year earlier. The Edinburgh group also posted a 6.7 % slide in first half operating profits as it continues to shed assets and bolster its capital base. Much of the loss was caused by a £3bn accounting charge. Which was a result of the bank having to change the valuation of its debt.

RBS also confirmed that it had dismissed a number of traders linked to the Libor rate-fixing scandal that saw fellow bank Barclays fined £290m in June.

And in an excerpt from a BBC interview RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said "It is a pretty tough external environment, but I think we are making good progress."

Written and presented by Ann Salter