Taxpayers saved the Royal Bank of Scotland. Now it’s time we owned it | Gareth Thomas

Mutualising RBS would mean it could start serving those who bailed it out. And it would also inject some much-needed competition into the banking sector

Every month there are new headlines about the Royal Bank of Scotland's wrongdoing. The chief executive, Ross McEwan, puts the best spin on things, but his bank is still failing; most recently it failed the Bank of England's stress test. Trying to privatise the bank hasn't worked and state ownership hasn't been a rip-roaring success either; but worse, its very size and dominance means together with the other big banks it is stifling competition. Now is the right moment for a different approach.

Related: Turn RBS into a building society says Co-op party chief

In strong mutuals it is member expectations rather than shareholder interests that ensure more competitive products

Related: After eight hard years and a 52bn loss, can RBS ever be privatised?

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