Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is considering merging its subsidiary the Ulster Bank with Irish rivals according to a new report.

The proposed move would come as part of a move to reduce costs according to the Sunday Times, after the Ulster Bank was reported to be operating with rising losses, with £1.5 billion in losses in 2013, compared to £1 billion in 2012.

Ulster Bank has suffered from bad property loans following the countries property crash, with the bank now accounting for a fifth of all bad debt charges in RBS.

Potential Irish banking candidates for the takeover include Permanent TSB, KBC or Irish based subsidiaries of Danske Bank.

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