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UK starts RBS sell-off with sale of 2 bln stg stake

Reuters - UK Focus

LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Britain said it has started the sale of its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) seven years after it bailed out the bank, taking a loss on the sale of 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) of shares to institutional investors.

UK Financial Investments, the body that holds the government's RBS shares, said on Monday it would sell about 600 million shares, representing 5.2 percent of the bank, in a quick-fire sale to institutions.

Britain owns 78 percent of RBS after rescuing it with 45.8 billion pounds of taxpayer cash at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

The sell-off had been widely expected to start soon after Finance Minister George Osborne said last month he was keen to start disposing of shares as soon as possible, and aimed to sell at least three-quarters of the stake in the next five years. (Reporting by Steve Slater, editing by Sinead Cruise)