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| RBS share sale: Government makes £2.1bn selling off 5.4% of the bailed-out bank | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The first tranche of the taxpayer's majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland has been sold, kicking off the privatisation of the bank and making the Government £2.1 billion. | The first tranche of the taxpayer's majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland has been sold, kicking off the privatisation of the bank and making the Government £2.1 billion. |
| UK Financial Investments, the body which handles the Government's stake in RBS and Lloyds, sold 630 million shares - more than the 600 million it had intended - at 330p a share. | |
| The price was a 2.3% discount to yesterday's closing share price of 337.6p, representing a loss of just over £1 billion for the taxpayer. | |
| RBS was rescued with a £45 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2009. The then Labour government paid an average of 520p a share for the 79% stake. | RBS was rescued with a £45 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2009. The then Labour government paid an average of 520p a share for the 79% stake. |
| George Osborne this morning responded to criticism that the sale had come too soon, saying it was “the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses”. | George Osborne this morning responded to criticism that the sale had come too soon, saying it was “the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses”. |
| “It will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy,” he said. | “It will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy,” he said. |
| “Now is the time for RBS to rebuild itself as a commercial bank, no longer reliant on the state, but serving the working people of Britain. | “Now is the time for RBS to rebuild itself as a commercial bank, no longer reliant on the state, but serving the working people of Britain. |
| "The easiest thing to do would be to duck the difficult decisions and leave RBS in state hands; the right thing to do for the economy and for taxpayers is to start selling off our stake." | |
| The sale took the Government's stake down to 72.9% from 78.3%. |