The British government is planning to sell half its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland worth 16 billion pounds, within two years of a possible first sale in September. According to news reports finance minister George Osborne has indicated that he wants to begin reducing the government’s 32 billion pound stake in the coming months, but the sources said the shares will be sold at a faster rate than previously expected, making it likely the government will take a substantial loss on the initial sales. Final decisions on Britain’s biggest privatisation have yet to be made and progress will depend upon RBS’s performance, market conditions and ongoing investigations into past misconduct. At current share prices, the government is sitting on a loss of 14 billion pounds.
