IT is almost tempting to think that Ross McEwan is a glutton for punishment.

Asked about his own future yesterday as the Royal Bank boss unveiled a breath-taking £7 billion loss, Mr McEwan said he hopes to be given the chance to lead the lender back into profitability.

Mr McEwan, now three and a half years into his tenure, pinpointed 2018 as the year it is forecast the Edinburgh bank will be back in the black, although he did caveat the ambition with a couple of pretty big ifs.

That Mr McEwan has prevailed in post while presiding over thousands of job cuts, hundreds of branch closures, thumping losses and billions of fines as he has attempted to steer Royal Bank into health has maybe strengthened his resolve. But determination alone will not get the bank back to where it needs to be – and within the timeline set out yesterday.

Mr McEwan admitted it will only be when two of the biggest legacy issues Royal Bank has had to untangle – the unholy mess of Williams & Glyn and a potentially huge fine in the US for mis-selling residential mortgage-backed securities – before a clean profit can be made.

But achieving that this year seems ambitious. It will be the end of the first quarter before the EC rules on Royal Bank’s alternative proposals to selling the Williams & Glyn branches. And the bank is no clearer as to when it will finally settle with the US Department of Justice, and for how much. The end of the journey might be in sight, but the heat is still on Mr McEwan and his team.