Be in no doubt, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) remains troubled. The lender reported a heftier full-year loss than expected, bad debts are rising at the Irish operation, and the bank took a big hit from holding Greek sovereign debt.
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But the UK government is exploring a partial sale of its 82 per cent stake in RBS, which has helped its shares rise by nearly 3p since mid-March to 28p. The government could sell up to a third of its stake to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, although possibly not until the end of 2013. With the shares trading well below the average 50p a share at which the government took its stake, such a deal will involve a loss for taxpayers.