David Prosser: RBS does its job at last
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Outlook Disloyalty, thy name is Royal Bank of Scotland – that's how some Labour MPs (and the Liberal Democrats' Vince Cable) are characterising the bank's participation in the syndicate lending Kraft the money it needs to secure Cadbury. British taxpayers save your skin and you repay us by helping Kraft march off with one of our national treasures, they complain.
The problem is that many of those complaining loudly about RBS's involvement in this deal are also highly critical of the strain that bailing out the banks has put on Britain's finances. And if we want that strain to be eased any time soon, we need to give the bank the freedom to make a bit of money from time to time.
Though RBS is 84 per cent owned by taxpayers, it is not a State bank that makes decisions for political reasons, or even with Britain's national interest in mind. UK Financial Investments, the body that manages the taxpayers' stakes in the banks, has explicitly been instructed to do so on a commercial basis.
Let's hope RBS is charging Kraft lots of expensive interest on this debt – and that the US company will ask the bank to lend it even more to finance its higher offer. We taxpayers might get our money back sooner than expected.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments