Economic Policy Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Economic Policy

John Redwood Excerpts
Monday 25th February 2013

(11 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Redwood Portrait Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)
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Does the Chancellor agree that the state balance sheet would look an awful lot better, and that the economy would function better, if RBS was sorted out more quickly and sold back to the private sector in a way that promoted banking competition?

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
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I agree with my right hon. Friend. RBS is now pursuing a policy of becoming a much more UK-focused bank than it was under the strategy we inherited. We are absolutely clear that it should not be in the universal banking business on the scale that it has been and that the investment bank should be supporting its corporate and retail business in the UK, and it has made important steps in that direction.