UK 18:32 Sunday, 4 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
It has been a couple of months since I wrote up my thoughts on UK banking bad boy Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) HERE. The share has basically done nothing in the interim period but today's first quarter update continues the positive operational progress with income up a tad, the net interest margin flat, costs down and capital generation up. There was even a nod towards the scope for a dividend sooner rather than later and the general need for prudence in managing a UK-focused business currently. And the reaction of the shares? Down a couple of percent.
Picking shares should be easy, right? Find a company where both profits and cash flow generation are improving plus where investor sentiment is shot to bits and the Gods of both fundamental analysis and investor psychology should be on your side.
Hello Share Snackers. Once again, at the risk of irritating this website’s very good friend Wildrides, I turn to another British bank. Though it’s hated by many share shifters because of its ten year old wallow in the depths of despond, RBS (RBS) at last shows signs of a more permanent recovery.
Hello, Share Sippers. My Honkers Bonkers (HSBA) shares are rising nicely. But at much less than 800p, they are still way short of previous bests of 1200p. And that was so long ago that Shakespeare was still a lad.
Hello Share Smirkers. Normally I favour Lloyds (LLOY) when commending banks to your further inspection. But progress on that bank’s share price has been hesitant on days when its rival RBS (RBS) motors ahead. Though of late, RBS has weakened too - a casualty of the political uncertainty which becomes even more uncertain as the days roll by.
ShareSoc it is starting to serve up some opinions of worth. Its latest comment on the RBS scandal is bang on the money and shows why the UK Financial system is flawed and will screw we little people every time.
Hello Share Trundlers. It’s only with extreme caution that I commend any British banks to your eagle eye, having lost a stack of my own money on them even since 2007. But I am rather more hopeful about all of the big British ones now.
Corporate earnings season really sorts out the analytical geeks from the also-rans especially when it is ‘banks’ week. I sadly have been absent from writing pearls of wisdom on these pages recently as I have been up to my neck in global corporate disclosures and just the art of keeping up has taken up all of my time. Once however it is ‘banks week’ I know the end is nigh…because the UK large cap banks are among the last to pucker up their insights. We will generously muse that it is due to the complexity of their businesses and not inherent laziness…
Hello Share Wallowers. It’s all happening at the old Royal Bank of Scotland, now known boringly as RBS (RBS). It’s all about ownership of its smaller Williams and Glyn business. Spain’s Banco Santander was round the table with W and G, but then it pulled out, reportedly over differences about the price. But now the Glasgow bank Clydesdale (CYBG) may step in.
You can do a lot in 100 days. Back in April I was musing about the large UK banks and puckered up some ‘geek analysis’ on Lloyds (LLOY) which basically suggested a double digit trading opportunity was apparent…and so it came to pass over the next four to six week. A month or so later Brexit and the shares fell out of favour. Despite the grumblings in Lloyds statement last week I am getting similar feelings about an investing opportunity here again. What did I conclude last time?
Hello Share Screamers. I was going to sell my bulky haul of RBS (RBS) shares - until I saw the latest set of results. Of course, I should have sold them a few years ago when the price was around 500p. Now it’s around 220p. But I dare to think that things may improve now.
Hello Share Scrimpers. Here I go again - recommending a bank for your scrutiny. I sometimes wonder why I bother, as the big British banks have an eight-year-old habit of letting us down.
