The first tranche of the taxpayer's majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland has been sold, kicking off the privatisation of the bank and making the Government £2.1 billion.
UK Financial Investments, the body which handles the Government's stake in RBS and Lloyds, sold 630 million shares - more than the 600 million it had intended - at 330p a share.
The price was a 2.3% discount to yesterday's closing share price of 337.6p, representing a loss of just over £1 billion for the taxpayer.
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RBS was rescued with a £45 billion bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2009. The then Labour government paid an average of 520p a share for the 79% stake.
George Osborne this morning responded to criticism that the sale had come too soon, saying it was “the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses”.
“It will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy,” he said.
“Now is the time for RBS to rebuild itself as a commercial bank, no longer reliant on the state, but serving the working people of Britain.
"The easiest thing to do would be to duck the difficult decisions and leave RBS in state hands; the right thing to do for the economy and for taxpayers is to start selling off our stake."
The sale took the Government's stake down to 72.9% from 78.3%.
