RBS sees profit challenge ahead amid Brexit uncertainty

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has warned continued Brexit uncertainty is 'likely' to make income growth more challenging for the bank. The part-nationalised lender used its first quarter results, which showed a fall in profits, to say that while it was maintaining its outlook for 2019 it was particularly concerned about delays in business borrowing decisions. A collapse in business investment because of Brexit fog has been cited as a major drag on the economy - now set to be extended until up to 31 October following the UK's failure to secure domestic agreement on a withdrawal deal. RBS reported a 16% decline in operating profit before tax to just above £1bn from £1.2bn in the same period last year. Attributable profit before tax, which reflects one-off costs, came in at £707m. That was a fall of 12%