UK to sell 50% of RBS stake within two years

Britain is planning to sell half of its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), worth £16bn (€23bn), within two years of a possible first sale in September, sources with knowledge of government thinking have said.

UK chancellor George Osborne has indicated that he wants to begin reducing his government’s £32bn stake in the coming months, but the sources said the shares will be sold at a faster rate than previously expected, making it likely the government will take a substantial loss on the initial sales.

Final decisions on Britain’s biggest privatisation have yet to be made and progress will depend upon RBS’s performance, market conditions and ongoing investigations into past misconduct, the sources said.