The operating loss eased to £6.2bn from £6.9bn but without the loan losses RBS would have made an adjusted profit of £7.8bn. Mr Hester said he was confident that RBS will have completed the sale of the 300-branch William's & Glyn by the end of the year, which has been demanded by the European Union because of the vast injection of state aid RBS has received. However, the sale of RBS insurance businesses – which include Direct Line and Churchill – will take longer and the division slid into the red this year because of a sharp rise in compensation payments thanks to personal injury claims. Royal Bank is not expected to be fully profitable again until 2011 although Mr Hester did say: "The early signs are that a turning point has been reached in the economy and in bad debt. We expect the retail and commercial bank to improve next year." He described the investment bank as having had "a tremendous year" while Sir Philip described its performance as "stunning". Source: Independent