Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday that it returned to profit in the second quarter as bad-debt charges continued to decline and as losses in its businesses being wound down shrank sharply.

The group, which is 83% owned by taxpayers, reported a profit of £257m (€310m) in the latest quarter, compared with a loss of £140m a year earlier. Net profit for the first six months was £9m and was ahead of the Bloomberg consensus forecast of a £47m loss.