RBS chairman steps down earlier than planned

Sir Tom McKillop resigned Tuesday as chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, leaving the struggling lender two months earlier than he had planned.

Sir Tom McKillop resigned on Tuesday as chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, leaving the struggling lender two months earlier than he had planned.

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McKillop said he was stepping down so that his successor, Sir Philip Hampton, could complete his restructuring of the board. Hampton was deputy chairman of the bank.

RBS has been hit hard by the global banking crisis, and the British government now owns 70 per cent of the bank's shares. RBS has said it is likely to post the biggest full-year loss in British corporate history, up to 28 billion pounds ($40 billion). Royal Bank of Scotland shares were up 2.5 per cent at 20.9 pence on the London Stock Exchange.