THE Royal Bank of Scotland may face an investor revolt this week when it asks shareholders to foot the bill for the government scheme to sell its shares in the lender. At Tuesday’s annual meeting in Edinburgh, RBS’s directors will ask shareholders to vote in favour of paying the government’s fees — and to provide an indemnity to the Treasury for any liability resulting from the sale. If investors reject the proposal, George Osborne could force RBS to pick up the bill. However, such an aggressive move would leave RBS in a precarious position with its shareholders. Edward Firth, an analyst at Macquarie, said: “This was something that should have been handled years ago but wasn’t. You really get the impression that RBS isn’t very
It is suggested that the Royal Bank of Scotland will face a shareholders' revolt at tomorrow’s AGM in Edinburgh, when it asks shareholders to vote in favour of footing the bill for the government’s fees for the forthcoming sale of the State's 79% stake, as well as to provide an indemnity to the Treasury for any liability results from the sale. However, should investors reject the proposal, George Osborne may force RBS to pick up the bill anyway, thereby leaving the bank in a perilous position with minority shareholders.