RBS eyes dividend in 10-year plan to go private

The Royal Bank of Scotland expects it to take at least a decade to escape the state’s clutches.

According to the Times, the bank plans to resume its dividend in 2014 in a move which will indicate its return to health.

The newspaper said the bank intends to make further repairs to its balance sheet over the following 18 months, before placing its shares back on the market in four separate tranches worth more than £10 billion.

RBS has been under state control since 2008 when the Labour government stepped in and bought a £45.5 billion stake to prevent the bank from collapse at the height of the credit crisis.