News in Brief: RBS due in the clear this year, RM back on course but stays cautious, Quintain loses second director

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester said today that the taxpayer-owned bank should be able to leave the state-backed insurance scheme for toxic assets by the end of this year, potentially paving the way for dividends to be resumed.

But he warned that the next 16 months carried “important execution challenges” and that Libor rate-rigging would cost a “lot of money”.

RM back on course but stays cautious

Schools IT firm RM, which has been hit by government spending cuts, steadied the ship today as it said profits would match the board’s hopes this year after a “positive” third quarter. RM — closing its final salary scheme to further contributions by the year end — remains “cautious” over the outlook. The firm has launched a free ebook service for schools.

Quintain loses second a director

Wembley and Greenwich developer Quintain lost its second long-serving director in four months today as Rebecca Worthington quit to set up her own business. Worthington, who has been with Quintain since 1998 and became deputy chief executive in May, led negotiations with its banks during the credit crunch. Founder Adrian Wyatt stepped down as chief executive in May.