Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive Ross McEwan, chairman Sir Howard Davies, and chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson bought almost £1m shares in the taxpayer-backed bank
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) revealed today that its top bosses have bought up nearly £1m in shares in the lender, just days after the taxpayer-backed bank reported disappointing results for 2015.
News of the bank’s eighth consecutive year of losses sent RBS shares down more than seven per cent at the end of last week. Investors were doubly disappointed by the news that the bank does not expect to pay a dividend this year, either.
But RBS said today that chairman Sir Howard Davies purchased 40,000 shares, while chief executive Ross McEwan snapped up 200,000. Chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson also bought 200,000 shares.
The Treasury retains a 73 per cent shareholding in RBS, valued at more than £20bn.
Chancellor George Osborne has said he wants to sell £25bn of RBS shares alone by the end of the decade, although the bank’s share price will need to rise sharply between now and 2020 if the Treasury is to meet its target.