Pressure in Britain Over What to Do With Bailed-Out Banks

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http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/pressure-in-britain-over-what-to-do-with-bailed-out-banks/



The archbishop of Canterbury, a former chancellor of the Exchequer and the outgoing governor of the Bank of England are unusual comrades in arms.

Yet, the three stalwarts of the British establishment — Justin Welby, Nigel Lawson and Mervyn King — are all calling for the breakup of the part-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland.

They are part of a growing debate in Britain about what to do with the bank and its rival, the Lloyds Banking Group, which received more than $103 billion combined in rescue bailouts during the financial crisis.

Now, nearly five years after British taxpayers first took stakes in the lenders, the government is preparing to reduce its holdings before the next general election, which is expected in early 2015. The government owns 81 percent of R.B.S. and 39 percent of Lloyds.