Government raises £2.1bn from RBS sale

The government has reduced its stake in RBS by 5.4%, selling 630 million shares for £2.1bn in a quick-fire sale to institutional investors.

UK Financial Investments, the body that holds the shares on behalf of the government, said it had sold the shares, 30 million more than it had said it was planning to dispose, in Monday's sale. UK managers boost big bank exposure in RBS rush  The govenrment's shares were sold for 330p each after the UK markets closed yesterday even though RBS shares had closed the day at 337.6p, resulting in a 2.3% discount. The government had said it needed to sell its shares at 407p to break even. In a statement, Chancellor George Osborne said: "This is an important first step in returning the...