The government has begun the first sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland since the lender was rescued by a £46 billion taxpayer bailout at the height of the financial crisis.
In a statement to the stock exchange this morning UK Financial Investments (UKFI) confirmed it had sold 630 million shares to institutional investors at 330p a share - a 7p discount - raising £2.1 billion.
The sale of 5.4 per cent of the bank marks a loss of £1.1 billion based on the taxpayer’s “break even” of 502p. However, it is hoped that by putting more shares into private hands, it will lead ultimately to an uplift in the bank’s valuation.
The chancellor George Osborne said the money raised would be used to