RBS mulls axing 3,000 bank jobs

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland is considering cutting 3,000 jobs in its investment banking arm, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

An RBS spokeswoman said in a statement: "We are constantly reviewing our business model to ensure that we are aligned to market conditions and we would take any action accordingly."

RBS employs 170,000 people globally, including 104,000 in Britain.

It is the latest in a string of companies to announce large-scale job losses as the country faces a deepening depression. Telecoms company BT said this week it would cut 10,000 jobs, while many banks have also been reducing headcount over the past year.

Earlier this month RBS warned it faced more writedowns in its global banking and markets division and faces rising bad debts this quarter, which could drag it to its first ever full-year loss this year.

Shares in banks have plunged this year during a global economic crisis which has forced the government step in to recapitalise several large financial institutions, including RBS.

Investors fear banks will suffer once again as the economy enters a recession.

(Reporting by Olesya Dmitracova and Peter Griffiths; Editing by David Holmes)