This is what Philip Hammond had to say
The chancellor, Philip Hammond has said the government is prepared to sell its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) at a loss.
During the financial crisis of 2008, the Treasury bailed out the bank by buying a 72 per cent stake for a whopping £45bn, at 502p a share.
Shares are currently trading at 223p.
Philip Hammond told MPs on Tuesday: “We have to live in the real world.”
“Our policy remains to return the bank to private hands as soon as we can achieve fair value for the shares, recognising that fair value could well be below what the previous government paid for them.
“We have to live in the real world and make decisions on the future of our holding in RBS in the best interests of taxpayers.”
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