Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has designated 52% of its £87 bn (EUR 102 bn) commercial real estate lending portfolio as 'non-core' which is earmarked for repayment or sale by 2014. The financier reduced its overall loan book by about 11% last year from £98 bn (EUR 115 bn) in 2009.

The 'non-core' element of the financier’s loans business stood at £46 bn at end-2010, following a £9 bn reduction compared to 2009. RBS booked a loss of £3.3 bn on its real estate loan business in 2010, about equal to the result in 2009.

The bank expects to increase its sale of loans in 2011, while new lending will be limited.