A profit is nearly within reach.

Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester said the “sins from the past are receding” after the government-controlled lender posted a bigger-than-estimated first quarter loss.

“There are still a few of them with us, and there will be several more quarters obviously in which that receding happens,” Hester told reporters today. “As we tick off each of these items from the past, then that growing operating profit will become increasingly available to shareholders.”

RBS CEO Says ‘Sins From the Past’ Fading as Bank Has Loss [Bloomberg]