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.

Royal Bank of Scotland has transformed the executive wing of its headquarters near Edinburgh, synonymous with the excesses of former CEO Fred Goodwin, into a hub for start-up businesses, as part of the bailed-out bank’s bid to revive its reputation.

Royal Bank of Scotland will hand restructuring chief Rory Cullinan the task of overseeing another major scaling back of its investment bank, sources told Reuters, allowing it to focus on lending to British households and businesses.

Royal Bank of Scotland is likely to write down the value of its US bank, Citizens by about £4bn (€5.4bn) next week, industry sources said, potentially wiping out much of the state-backed bank’s annual profit.

A man walked into a bank in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger and demanded €3m to set up a nightclub in Dublin, which he was granted with scarcely any background check, according to Robert Webb of Nottingham University, who is trying to figure out why this happened.

Ulster Bank’s parent company Royal Bank of Scotland said it and its former bosses may have made bad business decisions in the past but that does not mean they misled investors or acted illegally, as it prepared to lodge its defence against a lawsuit from shareholders.

State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland will begin a new chapter today as New Zealander Ross McEwan takes over the helm.

Royal Bank of Scotland may face further legal action over a £12bn rights issue.

NEVER mind dress-down Fridays.

Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Stephen Hester will be in Dublin tomorrow to meet with Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan.

Ulster Bank approached Seán Dunne about financing the purchase of the Jurys /Ballsbridge site in Dublin in Jul 2005, the Irish Examiner has learned.

The revelations this week of what the top brass at banks get in their pensions sparked outrage. But the banks should not be swayed by public anger into pursuing former executives for recovery of funds lost, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Cormac McCarthy, a central figure in Ireland’s banking bust, has ridden back into town as the second-in-command at Paddy Power Plc, one of the great Irish success stories of recent years, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester has broken his silence after waiving a near-£1m bonus, saying that recent media coverage about the bank had been personalised and discomforting.

Britain took the rare step of stripping former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Fred Goodwin of his knighthood, after intense criticism of his role in RBS’s near-collapse during the 2008 credit crisis, and amid public anger towards wealthy bankers.

Ex-banker Fred Goodwin has had his knighthood removed, it was announced today.

The chief executive of bailed-out lender Ulster Bank’s owners, Royal Bank of Scotland, already under political pressure to give back a £1 million (€1.2m) bonus for 2011, could get eight times as much in future under his current contract.

SUMITOMO Mitsui Financial Group, Japan’s second biggest bank by market value, won a bid to buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s Dublin-based aircraft-leasing division for about $7.3 billion (€5.764bn).

As Ulster Bank sheds 900 staff, question marks hang over the commitment of RBS and its boss Stephen Hester to Ireland, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Bank chiefs in the UK who steer major institutions to the rocks and damage the economy could face jail under new laws being considered by ministers, it emerged last night.

ULSTER Bank lost €858 million of deposits in the four days after the Government’s bank guarantee in September 2008, according to a Financial Services Authority report.

Royal Bank of Scotland was brought to its knees by “multiple poor decisions” and its £50bn (€59bn)“gamble” on buying Dutch bank ABN Amro, a damning report in Britain confirmed today.

Poor management decisions and the last Labour government’s light-touch regulatory regime were key factors in the near-collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland, a long-awaited report by the City watchdog said today.

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter has been named the 'biggest villain' of the past decade, ahead of figures such as Simon Cowell and Tiger Woods.

The footballer at the centre of a gagging order over a relationship with reality TV star Imogen Thomas was named by an MP in the Commons today.

Lawyers for The Sun newspaper in the UK will ask for an injunction banning the identity of the well-known footballer at the centre of a controversial privacy ruling to be lifted, the newspaper said on its website.

The most senior judges in England and Wales have been accused of trying to gag the media after criticising politicians who have deliberately disclosed the content of privacy cases covered by injunctions.

The controversial £7.7m (€8.78m) pay package awarded to Royal Bank of Scotland's boss is expected to be given the all-clear by the British government today despite a widespread backlash over the deal.

As the reputation of Irish bankers hits the floor, we have turned to those from outside our shores to help steer our banks back towards some form of respectability. Whether it will work or not remains to be seen, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The City regulator in the UK today bowed to pressure and said it hoped to reveal details of its inquiry into the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland by the end of March.

The City regulator today defended its decision to take no action against bosses at part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), but said new rules were needed to punish bankers who take too many risks.

The City watchdog today ruled out action against former bosses at Royal Bank of Scotland after finding no evidence of fraud or dishonest activity in the lead-up to the financial crisis.

Royal Bank of Scotland has brought in a team of advisers to help sell its insurance business Direct Line after a flurry of interest from potential buyers - including American billionaire Warren Buffett, it was claimed today.

Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland was today fined £28.6m (€31.8m) for breaking competition law after revealing details of its loan prices to rival Barclays.

WHAT to do about failing banks and the bankers who pushed them over the edge is still making headlines.

Disgruntled investors in Royal Bank of Scotland will gather today to consider a possible legal action against the former directors of the part-nationalised bank.

Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester's move to defer part of his £9.6m (€11.14m) pay package for an extra two years was welcomed today by a shareholder lobby group.

The FTSE 100 Index edged back into positive territory today despite weaker-than-expected official sales figures putting pressure on retailers.

Royal Bank of Scotland today said former boss Fred Goodwin had volunteered a “substantial reduction” to his controversial pension.

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell suffered a dramatic shareholder revolt today amid fury over its recent pay awards.

The last member of former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin's failed top team is set to leave the group with a £517,000 (€585,529)-a-year pension.

Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland’s clear-out of Fred Goodwin’s former regime continued today after finance director Guy Whittaker agreed to step down.

Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland's finance director is to step down, it was reported today.

BANK officials have called for more fundamental changes to be made to the financial services sector, including a major reconstitution of the boards of all banks, to restore integrity to the country’s banking reputation.