Ousted boss Stephen Hester has warned it could take up to a decade for the taxpayer to be repaid its £45 billion stake in bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mr Hester, whose departure from the 81% state-owned bank is due before the end of this year, told a Sunday newspaper that privatising RBS was a long-term project.
He said: “My observation is that if the ultimately desired proceeds are £45 billion, then there has never been a privatisation that raises that much in one go.
“So it is most likely that it would be, if you do it conventionally, four or five goes over 10 years. That’s why I’ve always been confident that the state would get its £45 billion back.”
