UK government could begin selling Royal Bank of Scotland stake as soon as early August
The UK government could begin selling its 79% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as soon as early August, The Sunday Times reported.
The newspaper cited sources close to the Treasury and RBS who said the initial tranche of shares could be sold to major institutional investors in the first couple of weeks in August. The sources were quoted at the end of a report about a potential relaxation of "ring-fence" regulation of UK banks.
RBS was the subject of a GBP 45.8bn (EUR 65.98bn) bailout by the UK government during the financial crisis. The Treasury has a break-even point of 502p on its RBS shares, which closed 0.5p down at 360.2p in London on Friday 17 July.
UK chancellor George Osborne has indicated plans to raise up to GBP 2bn by the year's end, the item noted.
A Mail on Sunday report said it is predicted that Osborne will approve the placement of a small portion of RBS shares in September, but did not cite a source for the claim.
RBS will at the end of July post its 1H15 results, which will include a fresh provision for probable fines, according to the newspaper. City analysts cited by the report expect RBS to report a GBP 300m loss.
Royal Bank of Scotland’s market capitalisation stood at GBP 41.67bn at the close of trading on Friday.
Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday