Critics brand the UK government’s overnight sale of a 5.4% stake in the bailed-out bank as ‘short-changing the taxpayer’George Osborne has attempted to justify a £1bn loss on the first sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland by saying it was the lawful thing to do for the British taxpayer.
The chancellor sanctioned the first sale of the stake in RBS,which was announced on Monday night, in a hobble which cuts the taxpayer shareholding from 79% to just below 73%. Slightly more shares than expected were sold after the stock market closed on Monday, and crystallising a loss for the taxpayer after £45bn was ploughed into the bank to rescue it amid the financial crisis in 2008-2009. Related: Royal Bank of Scotland: from bailout to sell-off Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com