The Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) trebled its profit in the first quarter of the year, after a fall in restructuring and running costs paved the way for further recovery.

Attributable profit for the three months through March rose more than three times, up £259 million on-year to hit £792 million.

Pre-tax operating profit rose 70 percent to £1.21 billion, and the group benefitted from not having to set aside any more money to cover costs for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling claims.

However, despite this months strong performance the bank still has the threat of a bit US fine for mis-selling mortgages, that could run between $1 billion -$9 billion.

Ross McEwan, chief executive, said: “This is a good set of results, showing the progress we are making, despite a more competitive market. Our income is up, costs are down and our capital has strengthened again.”

Despite the strong performance, shares in RBS (LON:RBS) are currently trading down 1.54 percent at 269.20 (0822GMT).