UK government starts privatisation of Ulster Bank parent company RBS

A Royal Bank of Scotland branch logo is pictured in central London Credit: SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images

Britain has sold a £2.1bn (€3bn) stake in Royal Bank of Scotland to kick off the disposal of its holding seven years after bailing out the bank.

Finance Minister George Osborne hailed the sale this morning as "an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership" and said it was right to start selling the stake at a loss to the price paid for the shares in 2008.