Will RBS be Nationalised? What will happen to the shareholders?

planteria

IronWolf wrote: »

I don't think theres a huge danger of you losing money long term, but the share price could go down short term.

agreed. i think you've had some good answers.

dealer_wins

If Europe really "blows up" then RBS will go to the wall and shareholders will lose everything. (Like they did with Northern Rock etc). Chances of that happening I would put at 3-5% max.

Thrugelmir

pqrdef wrote: »

It's very unlikely that RBS has come clean about the true state of its balance sheet. Estimates vary wildly as to how much bad debt it's hiding - which only shows how much in the dark we are.

It should have been nationalised whe it was bailed out. It's a mystery why the shares are still trading and haven't been suspended. Well no, no mystery, it's because the system is corrupt and those who run it do what they like.

For some reason, Osborne is desperate to sell RBS before the election. I can only imagine that he owes somebody a favour and is scared that he might not be in the job after the election.

But even the government can understand that flogging shares now would be the equivalent of doing a new issue on a blatantly false prospectus, and even by the abysmal stantards of the modern City this is till considered to be a bit of a no-no.

Putting it another way, the government dribbling shares onto the market would be insider dealing on an epic scale.

The Treasury's finest experts (not saying much nowadays) are looking for a way to wipe you out, but they may not find one. They're committed to playing this game where RBS is a legit quoted company which just happens to have HMG as a shareholder. If they turn the bailout into a deferred nationalisation now, they will lose all credibility and lawsuits will follow.

But if they stick to the game, they can't hurt your shares without hurting their own, and Robert Peston will have his calculator out to tell us how much they're costing the taxpayer.

Osborne also has this problem that the cost of the bailout was kept off the government's balance sheet, and the deficit reduction programme will be a joke if he has to crystallise a loss.

Desperate situations call for desperate remedies, and whatever they come up with for RBS is likely to be gob-smackingly jaw-droppingly desperate.

Before making political statements. Remember it was the Labour Government that made a snap decision over that infamous weekend in October 2008 to save RBS from collapse. Like Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley they may well have burdened the UK taxpayer with a poor investment. RBS may well need further capital so the sooner the bank is back in private hands the better.

Hester must take huge credit for the restructuring of RBS since then. Of course the eventual outcome will be a much smaller bank. So the shares will never again rise to the level they once held.

ideal_knowledge001

Reaper wrote: »

The values of the shares can continue to fall because nobody wants them, or because the government is about to flood the market selling theirs, or because they issue more shares to raise money and so dilute your shareholding. But no, the value of your shares should not drop to completely zero unless they face going bust or get nationalised without compensation.

Thanks for the information Reaper, for now I have set a limit order of 35p it has hit that price twice in the last 6 months so I will incur a small loss if it does sell at that.

wary

ideal_knowledge001 wrote: »

Thanks for the information Reaper, for now I have set a limit order of 35p it has hit that price twice in the last 6 months so I will incur a small loss if it does sell at that.

Hopefully you set it at £3.50 and not 35p otherwise they will have sold immediately!

As you'll no doubt have seen, they're one of today's star risers which will hopefully make you feel easier.

This time next week, they'll be £4. If you can hold them for longer, this time next year, you & I will be millionaires!

ideal_knowledge001

wary wrote: »

Hopefully you set it at £3.50 and not 35p otherwise they will have sold immediately!

As you'll no doubt have seen, they're one of today's star risers which will hopefully make you feel easier.

This time next week, they'll be £4. If you can hold them for longer, this time next year, you & I will be millionaires!

yes I meant 350p, oh excellent I cannot wait to become a millionaire :D:D:D