UK May Start Selling RBS Shares Within Months

(RTTNews) - The U.K. government plans to start selling shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. (RBS, RBS.L) within months, reports said. The plan has got the consent of the Bank of England and independent adviser Rothschild.

The U.K government has a 32.1 billion pounds ($49.2 billion) worth stake in the lender, which it rescued during the financial crisis.

RBS fell into bad times after its acquisition of Dutch banking group ABN Amro, and Britain bailed out the lender by spending 45.5 billion pounds.

Chancellor George Osborne said Wednesday in his annual Mansion House speech that starting to sell shares in the lender, even if it was for a loss, was the right thing to do for taxpayers and the economy.