Royal Bank of Scotland pays back Â£150m to Government

The Government has pocketed Â£150m as Royal Bank of Scotland coughed up the first dividend since its Â£45bn bailout a decade ago.

By The Newsroom

Published 15th Oct 2018, 12:59 BST

Updated 15th Oct 2018, 14:03 BST

The bank on Friday paid out a total of £240m to around 190,000 ordinary shareholders including UK Government Investments, which manages the Government’s 62 per cent stake in the lender.

RBS announced the 2p per share interim dividend in August after reaching a £3.7 bn settlement with US authorities over claims that it mis-sold mortgages in the run-up to the financial crisis.

The shareholder payout comes almost 10 years to the day since the bank received the first tranche of a Government rescue package at the height of the banking crash on October 13, 2008.

Chief executive Ross McEwan said: “I’m pleased to be able to pay a dividend to our shareholders; a small return after their many years of patience.”