Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria he plans to use to ensure sales of Government shares in Royal Bank of Scotland maximise value for the public purse.

Harriett Baldwin

The first sale of Government shares in RBS was conducted in August 2015 and raised £2.1 billion for the taxpayer. This was an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership, which is 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.

The government will conduct further sales of RBS shares subject to market conditions, and in doing so will maximise value for the taxpayer. The returns on the government’s interventions in RBS will be determined by the success of the whole of the selling programme, rather than the terms achieved on the first few disposals.