The Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed that it will complete its loan repayments next week.

The company is 82 per cent state owned after a £45bn bailout from the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis. The announcement was made along with its first quarter results, in which it reported a pre-tax loss of £1.4bn, compared with last year's loss of £116m.

The loss was exacerbated by changes in how RBS debt is valued.

The news comes after RBS set aside another £125m to deal with claims over PPI mis-selling.

The announcement follows a similar move by Lloyds Banking Group, which said recently that it will have repaid all its £157bn in loans by the end of the year.

Despite RBS confirming pay back, the Government will retain 82 per cent of shares in the bank.