Chancellor ‘urged to break up RBS’

A draft copy of a report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has recommended breaking up the taxpayer-backed lender, according to the BBC. It is understood the draft version of the highly-anticipated report was sent to commission members in the last week and they have until Monday to read it through, with a final report due by the end of the month.

The recommendation to split RBS would be awkward for Mr Osborne, given the pressure to start recouping taxpayer cash in the part-nationalised banks before the 2015 election.

It is thought Mr Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron are not keen on a break-up of RBS, which could delay returning it to the private sector and may be seen as a second state bailout of the banking giant.

RBS itself has claimed it is well on the road to recovery, despite reporting losses of £5.2bn for 2012.