Stephen Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has been forced out of his job as the British government prepares the ground to privatize the bank next year.\n<\/p>\n
Hester would step down at the end of this year with a payoff of at least \u00a31.6 million – and possibly up to \u00a35.6 million – as British Chancellor George Osborne announced plans to sell the bailed-out bank\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 82 percent stake in the lender.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cHaving brought RBS back from the brink, now is the time to move on from the rescue phase,\u201d the Chancellor said.\n<\/p>\n
Osborne is expected to announce further details of the bank\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s privatisation in a speech next week, media reports say.\n<\/p>\n
Last month, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the British government to sell taxpayer-held shares in RBS and Lloyds following their bail-out in the financial crisis.\n<\/p>\n
The suggestion is reportedly meant to trigger growth in a bid to deal with the British economic woes.\n<\/p>\n
RBS was handed a \u00a3390 million fine for “widespread misconduct” in rigging the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) earlier in February.\n<\/p>\n
MOS\/HE<\/p>\n