Hester: It could take a decade to privatise RBS

Stephen Hester, the outgoing chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has warned the bank will not become privatised overnight, and a potential sale could be a decade away.

The government is hoping to sell down its 82% stake in RBS before the next general election in 2015, though the nature and timing of the sale remain uncertain. However, speaking to the Sunday Telegraph after last week announcing his departure from the bank at the end of the year, Hester (pictured) said privatisation will be a long process. "My observation is that if the ultimately desired proceeds are £45bn, then there has never been a privatisation that raises that much in one go," he said. "So it is most likely that it would be, if you do it conventionally, four or five goes over...