Buy RBS?

PeacefulWaters

planteria wrote: »

i have had one eye on Lloyds over time, and probably should have invested.

but RBS seems like a minefield to me. i think we (the taxpayer) could be long out of Lloyds but still propping up the Scots;)

They're both Scottish.

Lloyds Banking Group plc. Registered office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Registered in Scotland number 95000.

planteria

Lloyds Banking Group
25 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7HN

jem16

planteria wrote: »

i have had one eye on Lloyds over time, and probably should have invested.

but RBS seems like a minefield to me. i think we (the taxpayer) could be long out of Lloyds but still propping up the Scots;)

What has Lloyds to do with RBS?

mark55man

Glen_Clark wrote: »

RBS is a huge complex international business with notoriously opaque accounts that few people, if any, really understand.
The only thing you can say in its favour as an investment is that politicians keep chucking public money at it (indirectly) to keep it afloat.
How much more of our money they will chuck at it is inside information you are not likely to find out on an internet forum.
Why do you think bankers pay so much to hire (ex) politicians?

I agree Glen- I don't think it will ever be allowed to fail, so there is an implicit safety net.

I have been an investor but got out at a small profit recently when £10bn losses started to get mentioned. I decided to put my money in a more reputable bank - National Bank of Greece (NYSE:NBG)

I will wait until 2015 before reconsidering RBS, I think 2015-2018 might see a Lloyds like recovery but for now the bulk of my financial sector investment is in Lloyds. If Lloyds powers up to £1.20 I may reconsider but I think that too will be in 2015

Glen_Clark

Yes, I strongly believe Brown & Darling should have just bailed out retail depositors and let the rest of RBS fail. It would have been cheaper in the long run, but I suspect they weren't looking beyond the next election
But now so much public money has been risked on it, even I think we have to keep it afloat.

ColdIron

If it had been called the Royal Bank of Surrey and the Home Counties he would have dropped it in a heartbeat

Thrugelmir

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Yes, I strongly believe Brown & Darling should have just bailed out retail depositors and let the rest of RBS fail.

So easy to say. The waves created would have created havoc.

planteria

jem16 wrote: »

What has Lloyds to do with RBS?

it's an alternative bank to invest in, and is the other one bailed out with our public funds. i'm sure you know that already;)

planteria

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Yes, I strongly believe Brown & Darling should have just bailed out retail depositors and let the rest of RBS fail. It would have been cheaper in the long run, but I suspect they weren't looking beyond the next election
But now so much public money has been risked on it, even I think we have to keep it afloat.

agree all round Mr Clark. it has been, and continues to be, a very costly propping up.

Glen_Clark

Thrugelmir wrote: »

So easy to say. The waves created would have created havoc.

... for bondholders, shareholders, bankers bonuses, and Sir Fred Goodwins pension yes. For others, less so.
Iceland bailed out domestic retail depositors, let the bust banks go bust and is recovering well already. Like a fire in the forest, natural selection and survival of the fittest, fresh young growth soon comes back stronger.