Insurance Blog

Monday, January 19, 2009

RBS shares plummet - The public votes!

So where do we start, it's a historic day in UK economics for many reasons not least the UK Goverment offering a 50 billion further bailout to the banks at our expense, and underwiting the toxic debts of the UK banks with a bad debt insurance policy.

You can read about all this stuff on the news sites, but what particularly interest us is the way that the Goverment's banking help package has helped put RBS to the sword!

Not content with sucking up 37 millon pounds of our money to own 70% of the company in the Autumn the Government looks like its bank bailout package has backfired upon the Goons who control RBS.

On the announcement of the latest rescue package the City has just responded with the biggest single corporate loss in UK history - RBS shares are currently down nearly 70% of their trading value this morning, making the bailout worth nothing!

Share trading has probably stopped by the time I've finished writing this.
Where this leaves RBS's insurance arm which includes Direct Line Churchill etc. remains to be seen. Probably going to get snapped up very cheap by the likes of one of the big suitors that have been courting it for the last year.

Insuranceblogger would like to point out that we foresaw this months ago (read the posts) and incidently would like to see any none performing bank go to the wall. Whatever happened to the free market economy - Ha! Ha!

Now's the time for 0% interest rates Mr Brown - great a free toxic mortgage!!!

Labels: credit crunch, RBS bank, rbs insurance, toxic debt

Friday, November 28, 2008

Government take two thirds stake in RBS Insurance

The government been forced to take ownership of 57% of Royal Bank of Scotland after it's own shareholders took up on just 0.24% of its capital raising.

The government will pay £15bn for the majority stake in the troubled bank and £5bn in preference shares following its bid of the UK’s biggest bank bail-out.

This bail-out will leave the long suffering taxpayers with an instant paper loss of £2.3bn, as RBS shares have recently been trading at a much lower share price than the 65.5p offer revealed last month.

In a bid to increase value for taxpayers and stop future politicians making business decisions about the running of banks, the government's shares will be held by an independent UK Financial Investments Ltd. (Who are they?)

According to the newswires RBS has been trying to flog RBS Insurance all year to raise £7billion, prior to the banks recent troubles!

As part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, RBS Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK, employing over 18,000 staff and incorporating many of the highest profile household names in the business, including Direct Line, Churchill, Green Flag and Privilege, amongst others.

Labels: RBS bank, rbs insurance