Responding to the announcement that the Government will begin selling off its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"The headlines will be grabbed by a potential loss on the sale of RBS but the overall profit from the combined bank bailouts suggests that the Chancellor is making the best of a bad job, especially as these were emergency recapitalisations rather than long-term investment decisions. RBS belongs in the private sector - it will be freer to lend, freer to operate and taxpayers will no longer have to bear the cost of fines and high pay. The government should not play the stock market, and therefore the Chancellor is right to sell off the stake as quickly as practically possible."
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Aside: For more information and background the National Audit Office have a guide to how and why there has been taxpayer support for UK banks