Senior government figures are discussing the possibility of buying out private investors in Royal Bank of Scotland and fully nationalising it amid mounting frustration at banks’ failure to lend to businesses.
Cabinet ministers are having conversations about whether to spend about £5bn buying up the 12 per cent of the bank the government does not own, although George Osborne, chancellor, is opposed.
The fact that ministers and officials are considering the proposal, which would mean taxpayers taking full responsibility for the bank’s toxic debts, shows how exasperated they have become at barriers they believe banks are placing on lending.