Chancellor Philip Hammond admits taxpayer stake in RBS could be sold at a loss 

Chancellor Philip Hammond has told MPs "we have to live in the real world" when it comes to making a decision on the government's holding in the Royal Bank of Scotland, admitting for the first time that the shares could be sold at a loss. 

Mr Hammond said that while the government was not actively marketing the taxpayers' 72pc stake in RBS, the plan to return the bank to private hands "as soon as we can achieve fair value" remains. 

However, he noted that "fair value could well be below what the previous government paid for them" which was 502p when the bank was bailed out in 2008 and 2009. The shares are currently trading at around 224p. 

This is the first time the Chancellor has said outright that the shares could be sold at a loss, his comments resonating with those made by his predecessor George Osborne just before the government sold a 5pc stake in the bank at 330p a share in 2015.  

Mr Osborne said at the time that "we may get a lower price than that was paid for it – but we will get the best price possible. The longer we wait, the higher the price the whole economy will pay."