Ex-Chancellor Darling: Govt must avoid Lloyds and RBS 'firesale'

Former Chancellor Alistair Darling, who oversaw the bail-out of RBS and Lloyds in 2008, has urged the government to avoid a rapid disposal of taxpayers' stakes in the banking giants.

Speaking at Investment Week`s Summer Investment Senate in Monte Carlo, Darling said he agrees with outgoing RBS CEO Stephen Hester that it could take a decade to sell taxpayers' stake in the bank. "There are lots of bank shares about to come on the market, but I do not think the government should rush into anything like a firesale. It will have to be done gradually, even for Lloyds. "I have no objection in principle to a discounted share offering at the start, provided your overall strategy is to maximise returns, but what I would object to would be doing that before the next election...