The lender, which remains more than 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer following its 2008 bailout, reported pre-tax profits of £939m for the six months to 30 June, Sky reports.
That compares to a loss of more than £2bn in the same period last year.
The bank said it had built on the £259m profit achieved in the first quarter and was clearly now moving away from the legacy issues which have held it back.
Litigation and conduct costs hit £396m in the half-year, the bank said, including a further £151m charge in respect of its £3.6bn mortgage-backed securities mis-selling settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the US.
There was also a £25m hit booked relating to the recent settlement of the 2008 rights issue shareholder litigation – a deal which averted the prospect of then-chief executive Fred Goodwin having to give evidence.
It said restructuring costs for the half-year came in at £790m.
Chief executive Ross McEwan said: “We’re doing what we said we would at our full-year results in February – growing income, reducing cost and improving returns for shareholders, while also starting to deliver a better service for customers.
“We see the first six months of this year as proof of the investment case for this bank: our path to sustainable profitability is becoming clearer and closer and we have resolved some of the most significant issues this bank faced.”
