[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

Royal Bank of Scotland is nothing if not prepared.  Unfortunately, its preparation came after, and not before, the Libor scandal broke.

RBS, 83% owned by the British people,  set aside between £400 million and £500 million ($644 to $803), to settle accusations by the U.K. and U.S. next week that it manipulated the interest rate.  Although it will not pay nearly as much as the record amount by UBS of $1.5 billion, it could pay more than Barclays in June ($453 million).  Although the bank has not commented on the size of the settlement, it said it wants the matter dealt with by the time it announces its full-year results on February 28.

And how will it pay for the fine?  By slashing bonuses for its investment bankers, like Barclays and Deutsche Bank have done recently.

For further details, go to [Reuters, 1/15/13] and our Who's News story, [Barclays, Deutsche To Cut Bonuses By Up to 20%].