Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday it has set an extra £100 million to account for possible bad loans as a result of Brexit uncertainty.

“We have taken an additional £100 million impairment charge reflecting the more uncertain economic outlook …” said RBS as it reported its quarterly results.

RBS reported a third-quarter operating profit before tax of £961 million, up from £871 million in the same quarter of 2017.

However, attributable profit for the quarter was £448 million, below analysts’ expectations of £507 million.

RBS CEO Ross McEwan said: “This is a good performance, set against a highly competitive market and an uncertain economic outlook.

“We are growing lending in our target markets and are in a strong position to support the economy.

“We’re aware there is much more work to do and are fully focused on improving for our customers.”

Joseph Dickerson, equity analyst at Jefferies, said: “The incremental (£100 million) charge is not explained well and is at odds with extensive research we conducted on corporate credit and also consumer credit.

“It is also at odds with the actions of other banks operating in the same market.”