Government plans £15bn RBS share sale

The UK government has revived its plans to re-privatise Royal Bank of Scotland, with the aim of selling £15bn of its shares by 2023.

It aims to restart share sales by the end of the 2018-19 financial year and sell off £3bn a year over five years - about two-thirds of its 72% stake.

The move was outlined in budget documents released on Wednesday.

The government halted a previous attempt to sell its stake in 2015 after the bank's share price slumped.

It sold £2.1bn of RBS shares at 330p a share, well below the 502p it originally paid.

RBS was bailed out by the Treasury to the tune of £45bn at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, giving the taxpayer a stake of about 80% in the bank.

In documents released on budget day, the Treasury said: "RBS has made significant progress on resolving its legacy issues and refocusing on serving British businesses and consumers.

"It remains the government's objective to return the bank fully to the private sector when it represents value for money to do so and market conditions allow."

The government said it now faces a £26.2bn loss on its stake in RBS, down from a previous forecast of £29.2bn in March, after a recent recovery in the value of the bank's shares.

Last month, RBS posted its third consecutive quarter in the black after swinging to profit over the last three months.

The bank recorded a £392m profit for the quarter to 30 September, which compares with a £469m loss in the same period last year.