TIMELINE-A year in the life of Royal Bank of Scotland

April 7 (Reuters) - Part-nationalised British lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) said it could shed up to 9,000 jobs over the next 2 years, including 4,500 in the UK, as part of a shake-up of its back-office operations.

Following are some key events at RBS in the last year:

April 22, 2008 - RBS announces a record 12 billion pound ($23.9 billion) rights issue to cover a potential 5.9 billion pound writedown on the value of its toxic assets.

Aug. 8 - A 5.9 billion pound ($11.4 billion) writedown on risky assets sends RBS to a first-half loss of 691 million pounds -- better than feared, but still one of the biggest losses in UK history.

Oct. 7 - Shares in RBS slump 41 percent to their lowest level since late 1993.

Oct. 17 - Britain's government is forced to pump 20 billion pounds ($30 billion) into the lender to shore up its capital position. Stephen Hester named to replace Fred Goodwin as CEO.

Nov. 28 - The state increases its RBS stake to 58 percent after injecting a further 15 billion pounds into the lender.

Jan. 13, 2009 - RBS sells its 4.26 percent stake in Bank of China for $2.34 billion, a clear sign the beleaguered British bank was scaling back on its commitment to China. The lender boosted its presence in Asia through its acquisition of ABN AMRO in 2007, a deal blamed in part for RBS' financial woes.

Jan. 16 - RBS names Sainsbury's Philip Hampton as deputy chairman and says he will succeed Tom McKillop as chairman.

Feb. 5 - RBS scraps the 10-month auction of its insurance arm, valued at more than 6 billion pounds ($8.8 billion) when it was put up for sale last April and failed to attract an acceptable offer.

Feb. 26 - RBS reports a loss of 24.1 billion pounds ($34.3 billion) for 2008, the biggest in British corporate history.

-- The government will inject a further 13 billion pounds ($18.5 billion), which could raise Britain's stake in RBS as high as 95 percent.

-- The government asks Goodwin to give up an annual pension worth about 700,000 pounds.

-- RBS says it will end its sponsorship of the Williams Formula One team when the current deal expires in 2010.

Feb. 27 - Prime Minister Gordon Brown piles pressure on Goodwin, saying legal action may be used to claw back some of the pension payout. Goodwin has said he has no intention of giving up his benefits.

March 9 - RBS says in its annual report that Goodwin was paid 1.3 million pounds ($1.85 million) in 2008, and his controversial pension was exceeded by that of Larry Fish, former chairman and chief executive of RBS's U.S. arm Citizens. The report showed the value of Fish's pension fund was $27 million.

April 1 - Protesters target an RBS branch as the G20 heads of government gather in London while windows were smashed and a car damaged the previous month in an attack on Goodwin's home.

April 3 - Chairman Philip Hampton warns of more job cuts in a speech delivered at a shareholder meeting.

April 7 - RBS says it could shed up to 9,000 jobs over the next 2 years, including 4,500 in the UK.

-- RBS says the state's holding in the group will rise to 70.3 percent from 58 percent after its private sector investors largely shunned a sale of new shares buying just 0.7 percent of the shares offered for sale. (Compiled by Carl Bagh, Editorial Reference Unit Bangalore; Writing and editing by David Cutler, London Editorial reference unit))