The Guardian view on the RBS sell-off: a bad deal all round | Editorial
Credit to George Osborne: he can make even a fire sale look like a headline land grab. The chancellor has been all over the front pages this week, first with his proposal to make budget surpluses a legal requirement, and then with his plans to sell Royal Bank of Scotland back to the market. Trust Mr Austerity to wring two splashes out of one Mansion House speech.
Yet however confidently it is presented, however many background briefings it comes cushioned in, reprivatising RBS is a stinker of an idea. For it is the squandering of two opportunities: a financial waste as taxpayers are set to lose cash on the deal, and a political waste as the government flunks its best chance to make banks work for the economy, rather than crash it over and over again.
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