LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- Part-nationalized British banking group RBS announced massive losses for 2008 , totaling £24.1 billion ( $ 34.7 billion ) on Thursday . The results are the worst in British corporate history . RBS 's loss exceeded the previous record set by Vodafone in 2006 by more than £10 million ( $ 14.2 million ) . `` Last year was undeniably tough and a worsening economic environment means that 2009 will present significant challenges in all of our markets , '' said Philip Hampton , RBS chairman . `` The path to recovery will be neither smooth nor straight . '' The results were not quite as bad as had been expected , said CNN business anchor Charles Hodson , and they caused RBS shares to rise 25.5 percent by close of play Thursday . `` This is a watershed , '' Hodson said . `` RBS hopes this is a positive turning point ... that now this is where the recovery begins , with the old regime being laid to rest . '' Watch as CNN 's Charles Hodson analyses RBS results » . Hodson added : `` RBS will hope this is as bad as it gets . But there 's a body of thought that says it 's badly positioned . '' The 2008 financial report from RBS includes a three- to five-year restructuring plan that will focus the group 's business in the United Kingdom , with more limited global operations . The plan includes changes in management , isolation of toxic assets , and selling or closing `` non-core '' businesses . Last October , RBS was one of three major banks the British Treasury pumped $ 63 billion into to keep liquid . The other two financial institutions were HBOS and Lloyds TSB . The bailout saw the government take a 70 percent stake in RBS , making the government the bank 's largest shareholder and effectively nationalizing the company . `` We have moved purposefully to take major decisions that are necessary to restructure the group , '' said Stephen Hester , RBS group chief executive . `` We are charting a path to standalone strength and with it the goal of justifying the support of the UK government and all our shareholders . '' In January , the government announced the Asset Protection Scheme -- an effort to help British banks caught up in the global financial crisis . The Treasury revealed details of the plan Thursday . The plan has a number of facets benefiting the bank and the government . Under the plan , the British government will insure £325 billion in RBS assets . RBS must pay a `` participation fee '' of £6.5 billion to the Treasury and bear 19.5 billion of any loss -- a sort of deductible . In addition , RBS will promise to lend £25 billion this year -- £9 billion for mortgage lending and £16 billion to businesses . That commitment is key for the government , which has been urging banks to increase lending . The government will also inject an extra £13 billion in capital -- a move that will raise the government 's stake in RBS to 80 percent . RBS must now start restructuring and cutting costs , and layoffs are likely . `` We 're going to see a much slimmer bank , a much smaller balance sheet , several billion dollars ' worth of costs taken out , and hopefully that will guarantee them a future , '' Hodson said . The Royal Bank of Scotland is one of Britain 's oldest banks . It was founded in Edinburgh , Scotland , in 1727 and branched out to England in 1874 . After winning a takeover battle for British bank NatWest in 2000 , RBS set its sights on Dutch bank ABN-AMRO . Two years ago , RBS bought ABN-AMRO as part of a consortium with Santander and Fortis , paying $ 15 billion for its share out of a total of $ 75 billion . ABN-AMRO was the source of big write-downs for RBS , leading to the government bailout in October . Former RBS Chairman Tom McKillop recently admitted publicly that buying ABN-AMRO was a mistake . Earlier this month , former RBS Chief Executive Fred Goodwin told members of the British Parliament he was sorry for the bank 's part in the global financial crisis . Watch consternation at Goodwin 's £16 million pension » . `` There is a profound , unqualified apology for all of the stress that has been caused , '' Goodwin said . But he said the troubles at the bank were not all due to him . `` It 's just too simple if you want to blame it all on me , '' Goodwin said . `` If you want to blame it all on me and close the book now , that 'll get the job done very quickly , but it does not go anywhere close to the cause of all of this . '' Goodwin , 50 , faced scrutiny Thursday over his annual pension of 650,000 pounds ( $ 933,000 ) following RBS 's announcement . British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling urged Goodwin to give up his pension , telling the BBC that `` these excesses '' can not be justified .
British banking group Bank posts huge losses for 2008 , totaling $ 34.7 billion . These are worst in British corporate history . RBS was one of three major companies that Treasury pumped $ 63 billion into .